Lawyer in Saudi trans student's suicide note had embassy links, BBC finds

Source: BBC

Lawyer in Saudi trans student's suicide note had embassy links, BBC finds

11 February 2025

Katy Ling
BBC Eye Investigations

When a prominent Saudi trans woman posted her suicide note on X, her friends and followers were devastated. The note, viewed by millions, said a lawyer in the US - where she had been trying to claim asylum - had persuaded her into returning home to a family and country that would not accept her identity.

The BBC World Service has identified this man as Bader Alomair, who has worked at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington DC, evidence suggests. He is linked to controversial returns from the United States of several other Saudi students - including two later accused of committing murder during their time at university.

Mr Alomair has not responded to the allegations raised in our investigation.

Eden Knight was from one of the Middle Eastern kingdom's most respected families. After moving to Virginia in 2019 on a Saudi government scholarship to study at George Mason University, Eden made the decision in early 2022 to transition from presenting as a man to presenting as a woman, by wearing feminine clothes and taking female sex hormones.

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czepx5n3581o

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On the advice of friends, Eden Knight, a Saudi trans woman, consulted lawyer Bader Alomair
to assist her in seeking asylum. Bader was really working for Saudi Arabia instead.
While seeming helpful at first, Bader led Eden into a trap.