US grants political asylum to widow of murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi - 5 years after he was killed in Saudi consulate in Turkey

• Khashoggi, a columnist and activist for democracy, was murdered on the grounds of Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul in 2018
• US intel said it was an assassination's approved by the Saudi crown prince
• His widow Hanan Elatr said she had to go into hiding after the murder

The widow of Kamal Khashoggi has been granted political asylum in the US five years after the Washington Post journalist was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

Hanan Elatr told The Washington Post she 'couldn't really believe it' when she read the letter informing her of the official decision, which she added 'shows there is one victim who is still alive.'

Khashoggi, a columnist and critic of the Saudi crown, was murdered on the grounds of Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul in 2018 by a Saudi assassination squad sent by  crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to US intelligence. 

As she explained in her asylum application, Elatr was forced to go into hiding after Khashoggi was killed, leaving the United Arab Emirates, where she had lived for 26 years but where her life would now be in danger.

Elatr, would also be in danger in her native Egypt, an ally of the Saudis. She has claimed Egyptian authorities detained her and her family unfairly and mistreated them because of her connection with Khashoggi.

Elatr also claims that four months before Kashoggi's murder, she was detained in the UAE for 10 days and interrogated about her relationship with the columnist. She said officials put spyware on her phones, which the UAE has denied.

The former flight attendant for Emirates airline and Khashoggi married in the US in July 1018, months before his death, and has remained outspoken about demanding justice.

'[Biden] has to ask what happened to his body? Where is his body? Still we do not have any answer,' she told the Associated Press last year. 'And people need to get the truth in this case. And we cannot forget.'

'We cannot forget what happened to Jamal.'

Khashoggi's murder first appeared to threaten US relations with Saudi Arabia and MBS, but both the Trump and Biden administrations eventually put the issue aside instead of risking the crucial relationship with the Arab power.

As a candidate, Joe Biden promised to make Saudi Arabia a 'pariah' for the horrific murder. But as president he bumped fists with the kingdom's de facto ruler during a visit to improve relations.

Weeks after the Biden-MBS meeting, the State Department announced that the crown prince was entitled to 'sovereign immunity' because of his role as prime minister.

District Court Judge John Bates said that although the allegations against MBS were 'credible' he had no choice but to dismiss the case. 

Khashoggi, a journalist who had been critical of the Saudi government, walked into the consulate on October 2, 2018, to collect documents that would allow him to get married to another woman, Turkish academic Hatice Cengi. He never walked out.

Neither Cengi nor Elatr were aware they were both involved with Khashoggi at the time of his death.

Audio tape released believed to be from Khashoggi's Apple Watch captured his dying screams as he was allegedly dragged from the Saudi consul general's office to a table in a next-door study, injected with an 'unknown drug' and surgically dismembered.

A team of 15 Saudi agents had flown to Turkey to meet Khashoggi inside the consulate. They included a forensic doctor, intelligence and security officers and individuals who worked for the crown prince's office.

Turkish officials allege Khashoggi was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw.