US: Khashoggi fiancee to attend State of the Union

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Democratic Congressman Gerry Connolly said Monday that murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, will be his guest for State of the Union address.

"Hatice's courage to sit in the House Chamber Tuesday night should serve as a clarion call to the President that no matter how high it goes, Saudi Arabia must be held accountable for the murder of this loving father and fiancee, respected journalist, U.S. resident, my constituent, and reformer," Connolly said in a statement.

Connolly, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called on the Donald Trump administration to take necessary action against the murder.

"Congress has acted. Now too must the President," he added.

Khashoggi was killed on Oct. 2, 2018, inside the Saudi embassy in Turkey.

Connolly introduced the Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act, legislation to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the murder of Khashoggi, which prohibits arms sales to the subjected country -- regardless of the amount -- for 120 days, and every 120 days thereafter until Saudi Arabia meets certain human rights conditions.

It would also require a report on whether Saudi authorities engaged in intimidation or harassment of Khashoggi or any individual in the U.S. and intelligence community to report on whether it fulfilled its duty to warn Khashoggi of an impending threat against him.

Trump will address the State of the Union on Tuesday, as the Senate is set to vote to acquit or remove Trump in his impeachment trial on Wednesday.

Trump is facing two separate articles of impeachment passed by the House of Representatives in December tied to his repeated attempts to get Ukraine to declare criminal investigations into Biden and his subsequent decision to refuse to cooperate in the congressional probe into the matter.

The first article, abuse of power, is centered on Trump's decision to hold up millions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine as well as a coveted Oval Office meeting sought by President Volodymyr Zelensky while he was pushing to have the probes declared.

The second article, obstruction of Congress, is tied to his refusal to cooperate with the congressional investigation and his directive that top officials and government agencies do the same.