Rights groups urge UN probe into Khashoggi case

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A UN investigation into the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi would best protect against possible attempts to cover up what happened, leading rights groups said Thursday.

“Turkey should enlist the UN to initiate a timely, credible, and transparent investigation,” Robert Mahoney, deputy executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement provided by Human Rights Watch.

The rights groups along with Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International are urging Ankara to ask UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to form an investigation into Khashoggi's disappearance.

“UN involvement is the best guarantee against a Saudi whitewash or attempts by other governments to sweep the issue under the carpet to preserve lucrative business ties with Riyadh,” said Mahoney.

Khashoggi has been missing since Oct. 2 when he was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Speculation continues to mount he was killed by Saudi operatives inside the diplomatic facility even as Saudi Arabia continues to deny involvement but offers no explanation for his whereabouts.

“Partial explanations and one-sided investigations by Saudi Arabia, which is suspected of involvement, aren’t good enough," said ​Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch.

"Only the UN has the credibility and independence required to expose the masterminds behind Khashoggi’s enforced disappearance and to hold them to account,” added Charbonneau.

On the same day of Khashoggi's disappearance, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while Khashoggi was still inside, according to Turkish police sources. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.

On Wednesday, crime scene investigation units arrived at the official residence of the Saudi Consul General Mohammad al-Otaibi, around 4.40 p.m. local time (1340GMT). Al-Otaibi had left Turkey for Riyadh on Tuesday.

Officials from a joint Turkish-Saudi team completed an investigation into the case early Thursday after searching the residence as well as the Saudi Consulate building in Istanbul.

Sherine Tadros, the head of Amnesty International's New York office argued Saudi Arabia has the most to gain from a UN probe, assuming it was not involved in Khashoggi's disappearance.

“Without a credible UN inquiry, there will always be a cloud of suspicion hanging over Saudi Arabia, no matter what its leadership says to explain away how Khashoggi vanished,” she said.