Khasshogi died in a ‘fistfight’ – Saudis
Saudi Arabia claims Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi died in a “fistfight” in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, finally admitting that the writer had been slain at its diplomatic post.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says Saudi Arabia’s announcement that suspects are in custody in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is a “good first step” and said he would work with Congress on a US response.
Authorities say 18 Saudi suspects were in custody and intel-
However, Amnesty International says the “impartiality” of a Saudi investigation into the killing of Jamal Khashoggi would remain in question after authorities in the kingdom said
the consulate in Istanbul.
Amnesty’s Rawya Rageh says early Saturday the rights group and other organizations have been very clear that what is needed is “an impartial and independent
out what happened and ensure justice” for Khashoggi.
She said rights groups have been concerned of a “whitewash” in the investigation.
The overnight announcements in Saudi state media came more than two weeks after Khashoggi, 59, entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul for paperwork required to marry his Turkish fiancée, and never came out.
They also contradicted assertions in Turkish media leaks that Khashoggi was tortured, killed and dismembered inside the consulate, claims the kingdom had rejected as “baseless.”
But growing international pressure and comments by US officials up to President Donald Trump forced the kingdom to acknowledge Khashoggi’s death.
The president spoke to the media Friday at a defense roundtable in Arizona hours after Saudi Arabia claimed that Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor last seen on October 2, was killed in a “fistfight” at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The kingdom also said that 18 suspects were in custody and that intelligence officials had been fired.
Asked by a reporter whether he thought Saudi Arabia’s explanation for Khashoggi’s death was credible, Trump said, “I do. I do.” But he said before he also wants to talk to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Once close to the royal family and an adviser to the country’s former intelligence chief, Khashoggi became a sharp critic of its young and ambitious crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, for cracking down on any opposition and
in neighboring Yemen that killed thousands of people.
His disappearance and death ignited a diplomatic firestorm and shook Saudi Arabia’s alliances with its partners, brought calls for sanctions against the oil-rich
advocates and people around the world who never read his work.
In a final column for the Post, which the newspaper said it received from his assistant on October 3 and was published on Wednesday, Khashoggi warned that governments in the Middle East “have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate.”
He noted that some Middle East leaders were blocking internet access so they could tightly control what their citizens can see.
“The Arab world is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors but through domestic forces vying for power,” Khashoggi wrote.