US capital passes bill to rename street after Jamal Khashoggi

The Washington DC Council unanimously passed a bill this week to rename a street after slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi where the Saudi Embassy is located.

The Jamal Khashoggi Way Designation Act passed on Tuesday and seeks to designate New Hampshire Avenue NW as Jamal Khashoggi Way.

There will be a public ceremony next month for the new designation, according to NPR news.

"This name change demonstrates the values of District residents of a free and independent press," said DC councilmember Brooke Pinto in a statement.

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Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) said renaming the street in honor of Khashoggi "will be an important gesture in support of accountability for his brutal murder".

"Jamal Khashoggi Way will serve as a daily reminder for the Saudi Embassy and the Saudi government that Jamal Khashoggi and his legacy are just a powerful in death as in life," said Whitson.

Khashoggi was a co-founder of DAWN.

The Washington Post columnist and US resident was killed and dismembered by a group of Saudi operatives shortly after he entered the country's consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

Riyadh initially denied any role in his death but later blamed it on what it said was a botched rendition operation.