On the second anniversary of his assassination … Calls for an...

                On Friday, human rights organizations called for an international investigation to be opened to reveal the truth about the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two years ago.  A joint statement issued by Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders and distributed in front of the consulate stated that "a false image of justice was shown through judgments that lack transparency and failed to hold those who ordered the operation to be held accountable."             
                                      
On the second anniversary of his assassination inside his country's consulate in Istanbul, human rights organizations called Friday for an international investigation to reveal the truth of the journalist's killing Jamal Khashoggi. 

Protest

Dozens, including friends of the journalist who was writing for the “Washington Post,” organized a protest in front of the gated compound, where he was killed and his body dismembered by Saudi assassination team On October 2, 2018.

A joint statement issued by Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders and distributed in front of the consulate stated that “a false image of justice was shown through judgments that lack transparency and failed to hold those who ordered the operation to be held accountable.”

“We all know Khashoggi’s killers”

Last month, a Saudi court overturned five death sentences issued against Saudi citizens, whose identities were not revealed, and replaced them with 20 years in prison.

The ruling drew condemnation around the world, including Turkey, which is conducting a separate investigation into the case that tarnished the reputation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and strained relations between Ankara and Riyadh.

"We all know Khashoggi's murderers," Fakhruddin Altun, head of the Turkish presidency's communications department, said in a tweet on Friday.

“Let’s get them to pay the price: Send the Saudi murderers to Turkey. Let us present them in a public trial with the presence of international observers.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan never held Muhammad bin Salman directly responsible, but said that the orders came from “the highest levels” of the Saudi authority.

“Chance”

In July, an Istanbul court began the trial of 20 Saudis in absentia, including two former aides to Prince Muhammad. The Turkish public prosecutor brought charges last month against six other Saudis suspected of involvement in the assassination.

Altun considered that the Turkish investigation into the crime is “the only investigation that aims to shed light on what happened.”

Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders described the trial in Istanbul as an “opportunity” to find out who ordered Khashoggi’s killing.

For his part, Turan Kislakci, head of the Turkish-Arab Media Association to which Khashoggi belonged, said, “Justice has been absent for two years.”

ودعت Reporters Without Borders Member states of the G20 are pushing for the promotion of press freedom in Saudi Arabia before attending the group’s summit in Riyadh in November.

The organization’s representative, Errol Onderoglu, said that granting Saudi Arabia the rotating presidency of the G20 was a “paradox,” adding that “this approach would weaken the international quest for justice.”

France 24 / AFP