The fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi has asked the US to lead aninternational investigation into the murder of the Washington Post columnistlast October inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
“Jamal’s killing was a violation of the most basic,universal human right: the right to live,” Hatice Cengiz said in writtentestimony on Thursday to a US congressional panel.
“What happened to him is part of a global pattern ofjournalists and those who speak and write freely being killed. Escaping abroadin search of safe harbor is no longer a guarantee of protection.”
Cengiz, a Turkish citizen, used her appearance before theHouse Foreign Affairs sub-committee on human rights to urge lawmakers to pressfor an international probe of Khashoggi’s October 2, 2018, killing, reports Efenews.
Once part of the Saudi establishment, Khashoggi becameestranged from the government in Riyadh as a result of his criticism of CrownPrince Mohammed bin Salman and had been living in self-imposed exile in the USsince 2017 at the time of his visit to the consulate in Istanbul to obtaindocuments he needed to marry Cengiz.
Making her first visit to the US since Khashoggi’s murder,Cengiz also called for sanctions against Saudi Arabia while reproaching both PresidentDonald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for failing to hold Riyadhaccountable.
“In the first days after the event, President Trumpinvited me to the White House. In those days I thought US values would helpsolve this. In the early days President Trump said this would be so. Ms. Pelositalked about how unacceptable this was, but eight months later nothing has beendone and that is why I’m here today,” Cengiz said, speaking through aninterpreter.
It took the Saudi government weeks to acknowledge thatKhashoggi died inside the consulate in Istanbul and Riyadh’s initial accountsaid that he was killed in a fight.
Revelations by the Turkish government ultimately forced theKingdom to admit that Khashoggi was murdered and his body cut up.
While Saudi prosecutors have charged a dozen governmentofficials for the murder, the Kingdom continues to insist that the Crown Princehad not had any prior knowledge of the operation in Istanbul, whose originalaim was to bring Khashoggi back to Riyadh.
“We still don’t know why they killed him. We don’t knowwhere is body is,” Cengiz told lawmakers.
“If someone had told me seven months ago I would comehere without Jamal, to ask about justice for him, I would not believe it,”she said. “I still can’t understand the world hasn’t done anything aboutthis.”
The Trump administration has been unwilling to blame theCrown Prince for Khashoggi’s death.