The fiancée of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi says Saudi authorities know where Khashoggi’s body is and called on them to reveal its whereabouts. “I am asking once again, where is his body?” Hatice Cengiz Monday told a memorial service for Khashoggi in London.
“I believe the Saudi regime knows where his body is. They should answer my demand. For this is not only the demand of a fiancée, but of a human.”
The death of Khashoggi — a Washington Post columnist and critic of the Saudi crown price — at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has sparked global criticism of Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi, 59, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 to obtain paperwork necessary for his upcoming marriage to Cengiz, a Turkish national. When he did not come out, Cengiz first raised the alarm.
Saudi Arabia initially denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance, but has since changed its account several times and last week admitted that the killing was premeditated.
At the memorial service, Cengiz said she was disappointed in the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump.
“President Trump should help reveal the truth and ensure justice be served. He should not pave the way for a cover-up of my fiancée’s murder. Let’s not let money taint our conscious and compromise our values.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Monday the Trump administration is considering possible actions in response to the killing of Khashoggi.
“The administration is weighing different options and we’ll make an announcement about what the decision of that action is,” she told reporters.
Trump said last week that Saudi authorities had staged “one of the worst cover-ups” in history with their response to the killing of Khashoggi.
On Monday. Turkey called for the full truth surrounding the killing of Khashoggi to be revealed, as Saudi Arabia’s top prosecutor visited Turkey.
The head of the Saudi investigation, Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb, met with Istanbul chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan for around 75 minutes on Monday at Istanbul’s main courthouse, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday there was “an advantage in our prosecutors sharing information and working together.”
He told a press conference in Istanbul that the “cooperation must continue, but it must not be drawn out or turned into a diversion.” He called for the investigation to be completed as soon as possible.
Turkey has been pushing Saudi Arabia to help locate Khashoggi’s body and has asked for the extradition of 18 men arrested in Saudi Arabia in connection with the killing.
Leave a Reply