Khashoggi fiancee slams UN, EU for inaction over murder

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) -- The fiancee of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Monday urged the United Nations and the European Union to launch an international investigation into his murder "to prove their legitimacy.”

Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish researcher and activist, spoke at a press conference titled "500 days after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi" organized by the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU).

Cengiz spoke of a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial killings, Agnes Callamard, which had found "credible evidence" after Khashoggi’s killing 17 months ago to further probe Saudi officials, including Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

"The findings of this report are very clear -- there needs to be an international investigation. But there are no signs of this, and it has caused me and others to question the legitimacy, legality and authority of the United Nations," she said.

Cengiz said she aimed to persuade European and other UN nations to push forward on the international investigation.

She said EU countries were known as frontrunners in the quest for the "right to think and freedom of the press."

"This is a golden opportunity to prove those rights. With this, Europe will prove its legitimacy to the world.”

Cengiz said a colossal murder had been committed, and those responsible had not been punished.

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, was killed and dismembered by a group of Saudi operatives shortly after he entered the country's consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018.

Riyadh offered various, conflicting narratives to explain his disappearance before acknowledging he was murdered in the diplomatic building while seeking to shift blame for his death on a botched rendition operation being carried out by rogue agents.

Khashoggi's body was never recovered.

Callamard concluded in an earlier report that Khashoggi's murder was a "deliberate, premeditated execution" and encouraged an investigation of bin Salman.

Saudi officials, however, have insisted that the crown prince was not involved in the murder.

Saudi Arabia announced at the end of last year the death penalty for five people for taking part in Khashoggi's murder.

"It all happened behind closed doors. It was a closed trial. I don't accept its verdict, and no one can. I am still looking for justice, and I will continue to do so," Cengiz said.