Fiancee: No pardon for killers

A son of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, has said the family has forgiven his killers, potentially opening the way for them to receive full pardon.

Salah Khashoggi posted a statement on his Twitter feed late on Friday as Muslims prepared to celebrate the end of Ramadan. ‘‘In this blessed night of the blessed month we remember God’s saying: If a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah. Therefore, we the sons of the Martyr Jamal Khashoggi announce that we pardon those who killed our father, seeking reward God almighty.’’

However, Khashoggi’s fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who lives in Istanbul, vowed to fight for justice. She told The Times that no law allowed his murderers to go free. ‘‘The killers were all Saudi government agents who acted with premeditation to lure, ambush and kill Jamal,’’ she said. ‘‘No international law, Saudi or Islamic law allows those responsible for this monstrous crime to go free.

‘‘I and others like me will not stop seeking justice for Jamal until his killers and those who ordered his killing are held accountable.’’

The Saudi authorities did not immediately comment on the announcement. Ali Shihabi, a Saudi author and analyst close to the government, wrote on Twitter that the post ‘‘essentially means that the killers will avoid capital punishment’’ as the family reserved the right to forgive them under Islamic law.

Nabeel Nowairah, an analyst, agreed that the family’s statement effectively meant the ‘‘murderers will not be executed’’.

Khashoggi, 59, was killed in October 2018, by a hit squad believed to have been acting on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

After weeks of denials, Riyadh admitted that Khashoggi had been killed but insisted that the crown prince had no knowledge of the operation. The

CIA later concluded with ‘‘high confidence’’ that he ordered the murder. In December, a Saudi court sentenced five people to death for his killing, at the end of a trial that human rights monitors branded a whitewash.

A UN special rapporteur said that the statement by Khashoggi’s son was ‘‘the final act in [Saudi Arabia’s] wellrehearsed parody of justice in front of an international community far too ready to be deceived’’.

The Times

‘‘No international law, Saudi or Islamic law allows those responsible for this monstrous crime to go free.’’ Hatice Cengiz, Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee

Salah Khashoggi, left, a son of Jamal Khashoggi, shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on October 23, 2018. The family of the slain columnist announced late on Friday that they have forgiven his Saudi killers, giving automatic legal reprieve to the five government agents convicted of his murder and who had been sentenced to execution.

AP Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed on October 2, 2018, by a hit squad believed to have been acting on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. After weeks of denials, Riyadh admitted that Khashoggi had been killed but insisted that the crown prince had no knowledge of the operation.