Khashoggi murder suspects to be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia

Oct 28, 2018 News

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By Kemol King
Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said that the 18 persons who are suspected to be involved in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi will be prosecuted.
This comes after the Saudi television reports indicated that the public prosecution received information through the Joint Working Group between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Turkish Republic, which led them to conclude that the suspects in Khashoggi’s case premeditated their crime.
About the extradition being demanded by Turkey, the Saudi Foreign Minister said that that is not in consideration because the suspects are Saudi nationals.
President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had insisted that the 18 men involved in Khashoggi’s killing “must know” what happened. Directing his words to the Saudi royals, the Turkish President had said “You know how to make people talk. If you cannot make them talk, then hand them over to us. This incident happened in Istanbul. Let us put them on trial.”
Aljazeera reported that Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) spoke for the first time on a phone call, and that they discussed “the issue of joint efforts and the steps that need to be taken in order to shed light on the Jamal Khashoggi murder in all its aspects.”
CCTV footage published by CNN had shown a man leaving the Saudi consulate dressed in the clothes Khashoggi wore on the day of his death. Reports indicate that the man is Mustafa al-Madani, a “body double” and member of the 15-person team of officials and agents sent to target Khashoggi. The Washington Post reported that a diplomat familiar with the deliberations spoke of how the body double was flawed, which is why the footage of him never became an official part of the Saudi government’s narrative.
The slain journalist’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, said that she declined an invitation from Donald Trump to visit the White House: “I perceived it as a statement to win public favour”. She reportedly broke down in tears, describing the slain journalist as a “patriot” and said “I found myself in a darkness I cannot express”. Cengiz has been placed under 24-hour protection by Turkish police, who raised concerns that she could become a target.
Salah Khashoggi, son of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, fled the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia late Wednesday and arrived in Washington, DC on early Thursday last.
He had been banned from the Kingdom months ago due to the fact that his father had fled Saudi Arabia and became an outspoken critic of the Saudi dictatorship. Some of his family members, who are in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, have expressed a desire to rekindle with him outside of the Kingdom. He had been summoned to the royal court by the Saudi royals, before he left the Kingdom, to accept condolences from King Salman and Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS).
Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman has finally broken his silence on the killing of the journalist stating that it is a “heinous crime that cannot be justified”. He made this statement at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, where he said, “Some people are trying to seize this painful moment to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.”
MBS reportedly had a meeting with Chinese, Russian and Japanese business leaders with the statement “Now we know who our best friends are, and who our best enemies are,” since these country representatives had attended the economic forum hosted in Saudi Arabia, while many Western business leaders and world leaders boycotted the conference.
The Wall Street Journal reported that MBS called White House adviser, Jared Khusher, on to ask him why the killing of Jamal Khashoggi caused such international outrage. He reportedly could not understand why Khashoggi’s murder was such a big deal. The Wall Street Journal reported that persons who recently interacted with the prince noted that he had become angry that the episode turned into a diplomatic crisis.
Protests of Khashoggi’s killing are ongoing, outside of the US’ White House. Protesters have also been demonstrating outside of Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic missions in Britain, Turkey, America, and Indonesia.
President of the US, Donald Trump, has condemned the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, calling it one of the worst cover-ups “in the history of cover-ups”, as the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressed his parliament over the “savage” murder of the journalist.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, President Trump was asked whether he thinks the Saudi Crown Prince is involved with Khashoggi’s killing, to which he responded, “Well, the prince is running things over there more so at this stage. He’s running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him”. The Mirror UK had reported that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman “always said that he will cut off the fingers of every writer who criticises him.”
Trump’s comments have ranged from condemnation and threats of economic sanctions, to more conciliatory remarks about Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the US. This relationship has been threatened, as a bipartisan team of US lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban arms sales by the president to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, unless there is congressional approval.
US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that 21 Saudi officials will have their visas revoked or be made ineligible for visas in the future. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said “These penalties will not be the last word on the matter from the United States. We’re making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence.”
CIA Director Gina Haspel has briefed President Trump after having travelled to Turkey on Monday last to assess the evidence the Turkish authorities have accumulated on Khashoggi’s killing. Haspel reportedly listened to the audio evidence of Khashoggi’s interrogation, torture and murder. Reports indicate that the evidence couldn’t be more compelling, and puts pressure on the US to take action.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, reportedly made a call to Saudi Arabia, expressing her outrage over the journalist’s killing. The German Chancellor has halted weapons negotiations with Saudi Arabia, calling for a “credible” investigation. She reportedly also is advocating for the European Union to adopt a common position on potential limits to weapons sales.
CNN reported that President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has finally broken his silence on Khashoggi’s killing, reasoning that “First of all we should wait for the results of the investigation.”
“How can we, Russia, start spoiling our relations with Saudi Arabia without knowing what in fact happened there?” Putin said. The Kremlin pointed out, “We heard an official statement from Riyadh in which it is said that representatives of the royal family were not involved in the incident, we took this into account.”
Aljazeera reported that a Downing Street spokesperson, speaking on a call made between Prime Minister of the UK, Theresa May, and King Salman, said, “The Prime Minister said there remains an urgent need to establish exactly what happened. She strongly urged Saudi Arabia to cooperate with the Turkish investigation and to be transparent about the results. It is important that the full facts are established.”
The British Prime Minister has promised to ban all the suspects involved in the journalist’s killing from entering the United Kingdom, telling the British Parliament, “The Home Secretary is taking action against all suspects to prevent them entering the UK, and if these individuals currently have visas, those visas will be revoked.”
The British government has not re-examined weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, and is being brought to task by the “Campaign Against Arms Trade” (CAAT). The group is challenging the government’s decision to continue to license the export of military equipment to Saudi Arabia.
The French President, Emmanuel Macron, has also expressed his discontentment over Khashoggi’s killing and the consequent handling of the matter, in a call with King Salman. He reportedly told King Salman that France could potentially take action against those who are involved in the journalist’s killing. France reportedly has not decided on any sanctions towards the suspects or to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because the government does not want to make a hasty decision.
The events surrounding the journalist’s death had started when he travelled to Turkey with his fiancée to obtain divorce papers from his previous marriage. He had left his wife outside of the Saudi Consulate in Turkey. When he did not emerge after the consulate closed, his fiancée called the police and reported him as missing.
Reuters had reported, “The initial assessment of the Turkish police is that Mr. Khashoggi has been killed at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul. We believe that the murder was premeditated and the body was subsequently moved out of the consulate.” The Turkish Prime Minister had called an immediate investigation into the matter, following this statement.
The Saudi government had reportedly swiftly responded to the allegations made by the Turkish Police, stating that Jamal Khashoggi left the consulate on the day of the incident. Turkish investigators, however, have alleged that Khashoggi was tortured before his death and his body dismembered with a bone-saw.

 

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