26 October 2018•Update: 26 October 2018
By Burak Karacaoglu and Esref Musa
IDLIB, Syria
A graffiti artist in Syria’s Idlib is painting the walls of buildings damaged by airstrikes to show solidarity with murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and other reporters who have shared the same fate.
For the past two years, Aziz Asmar, a 35-year-old resident of Idlib’s Binnish district, has also painted images of the years-long Syria conflict, Palestine, and other issues of regional and international concern.
Asmar’s latest mural depicts the death of Khashoggi, who was last seen alive after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
Since then, the Saudi authorities have admitted that the journalist was killed inside the consulate building.
Asmar has also painted murals depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and Syrian regime leader Bashar al-Assad.
In one painting, al-Assad points to Mohamad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s high-profile crown prince, saying, “A good student of mine.”
Asmar told Anadolu Agency that the paintings were his way of showing solidarity with Khashoggi and the many journalists killed by the Assad regime.
“I don't want to see opposition figures or journalists share Khashoggi’s fate -- death at the hands of a tyrannical regime,” he said.
The artist urged such regimes to engage in dialogue rather than simply murdering those with different opinions.
A columnist for the Washington Post, Khashoggi was last seen on Oct. 2 when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
After days of denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, Saudi officials last week admitted that Khashoggi had died inside the consulate building.
Amid an ongoing international media outcry, world leaders have called on the Saudi government to “clarify” the circumstances of the journalist’s death.
*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara
