DC renames the street in front of Saudi Arabia's US embassy 'Jamal Khashoggi Way' to troll the oil-rich kingdom

Participants stand for a group photo after unveiling a new street sign for Jamal Khashoggi Way outside of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, June 15, 2022 in Washington. AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe

• Washington DC renamed the street in front of Saudi Arabia's US embassy "Jamal Khashoggi Way."
• It's a slight at the kingdom over its brutal 2018 murder of the prominent journalist. 
• The move comes a month before President Biden is slated to make a controversial trip to the country.

Washington, DC trolled Saudi Arabia on Wednesday by renaming the street outside its embassy "Jamal Khashoggi Way," a slight at the oil-rich kingdom over its brutal 2018 murder of the Washington Post journalist.

"Today we officially unveil Jamal Khashoggi Way," DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson wrote on Twitter. "Through his journalism, Jamal Khashoggi was a fierce advocate for democracy, human rights & the rule of law."

Mendelson continued: "Society cannot effectively function without a free and fair press. By designating the street fronting of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia after Jamal Khashoggi, the District is creating a memorial in his honor that cannot be covered up or repressed."

The Freedom Initiative, a DC-based human rights organization that focuses on the Middle East, captured the moment the new street sign was unveiled from underneath a blue tarp — which was met by a round of applause.

—The Freedom Initiative (@thefreedomi) June 15, 2022

DC Councilmember Brooke Pinto said on Twitter that the project was made in collaboration with Khashoggi's DAWN MENA human rights organization. 

—Councilmember Brooke Pinto (@CMBrookePinto) June 15, 2022

The DC City Council introduced legislation in January 2021 to dedicate the street to Khashoggi. It was signed into law earlier this year. 

The Saudi Arabian embassy did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Wednesday's installation comes ahead of President Joe Biden's controversial trip to Saudi Arabia next month, where he is slated to meet with the country's de facto ruler Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the recent oil crisis. 

Biden previously referred to the Gulf nation as a "pariah" and vowed to reevaluate relations as punishment over the 2018 murder of Khashoggi in Turkey, which the US concluded was approved by bin Salman.

During Wednesday's street sign reveal, Khashoggi's fiancee Hatice Cengiz slammed Biden in a statement for "putting oil over principles and expediency over principles," The Washington Post reported.

Former US officials previously pushed for a similar type of trolling earlier this year outside China's embassy in DC, where they wanted to build a replica of a Tiananmen Square memorial sculpture.