The web page for this week’s financial conference in Saudi Arabia is down Monday after apparently getting hacked with images of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi being executed by the Saudi royal family.
The incident comes a day before the Future Investments Initiative is set to begin — and after U.S. business leaders and organizations have pulled out of the Riyadh summit in droves.
{mosads}Screenshots circulating on social media show a picture posted on the site of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman with a sword standing behind a kneeling Khashoggi, with an ISIS flag waving in the background.
“For the sake of security for children worldwide, we urge all countries to put sanction on the Saudi regime,” a caption reads. “The regime, aligned with the United States must be kept responsible for its barbaric and inhuman action, such as killing its own citizen Jamal Khashoggi and thousands of innocent people in Yemen.”
The website now appears to be completely down.
After weeks of denying any involvement in the disappearance of Khashoggi, who was last seen walking into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, the Saudi government now claims that the Washington Post columnist was killed as part of a rogue operation that Crown Prince Mohammed has distanced himself from.
But most international observers are skeptical of that explanation, and U.S. lawmakers of both parties have criticized the Saudi government, with many calling for new U.S. sanctions.
Media representatives for Future Investments Initiative did not immediately respond when contacted for comment.