The fiancée of the murdered journalist Jamal Kasogi wrote an open letter published by the Washington Post calling on Justin Bieber to cancel his upcoming concert in Saudi Arabia.
“I am writing to you with an appeal: Cancel your concert on December 5 in Saudi Arabia,” Hatice Cengiz wrote on Saturday. “This is a unique opportunity to send a strong message to the world that your name and talent will not be used to restore the reputation of a regime that kills its critics.
Bieber is scheduled to perform live at Saudi Arabia’s Formula 1 race in December, along with artists such as ASAP Rocky, David Guetta and Jason Derulo at the opening Jeddah Grand Prix.
Genghis wanted to remind Bieber that the invitation to attend the event was sent by the Saudi prince and heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman: “Nothing significant is happening in Saudi Arabia without his consent, and no, “as important and fancy an event as this,” Cengiz wrote. “Your face even appears on the event website with his own – my fiancé’s executioner, Jamal.”
In 2018, a group of agents from the royal government assassinated the journalist at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage to Genghis. A US intelligence report found that the successor to the throne had approved the operation, but the Saudi Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it “completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report of the Kingdom leadership”.
Genghis is not the only one criticizing the F1 race.
“Sports bodies like Formula 1 and the FIA cannot ignore the fact that they and their fans are being used for sporting,” Minky Worden, director of Human Rights Watch, which oversees the sport, told the Guardian.
In 2019, Nicki Minaj left a concert in Saudi Arabia, saying she wanted to make clear her support for “women’s rights, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression.” Justin Bieber has not yet commented.
“If you refuse to become an MBS pawn, your message will be strong and clear: I’m not playing for dictators,” Cengiz wrote. “I choose justice and freedom from money.”
CNN
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