Khashoggi’s fiancee calls Saudi verdict ‘farce’

 

The Turkish fiancee of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Monday branded a Saudi court ruling overturning five death sentences in his 2018 murder a “farce”.

“The ruling handed down today in Saudi Arabia again makes a complete mockery of justice,” Hatice Cengiz said in a statement posted on Twitter.

“The international community will not accept this farce”.

The Saudi ruling came after Khashoggi’s sons announced in May that they had “pardoned” the killers, paving the way for a less severe punishment in a case that tarnished the reputation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

None of the defendants were named in what was described as the final court ruling on the case.

“The Saudi authorities are closing the case without the world knowing the truth of who is responsible for Jamal’s murder,” said Cengiz.

“Who planned it, who ordered it, where is the body? These are the most important questions that remain totally unanswered,” she wrote.

Khashoggi, 59, was an insider-turned-critic who wrote for The Washington Post before he was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018 where he had gone to obtain documents for his wedding to Cengiz. 

(AFP)