The Turkish fiancée of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, murdered by Saudi agents in Istanbul, said Friday that " no one has the right to forgive his murderers ", after the leniency gesture announced by the sons of the deceased.
Read also: The family of journalist Jamal Khashoggi "forgives" his killers
“ The trap set for him and his heinous murder have no limitation period and no one has the right to forgive his murderers. We won't stop until justice is done for Jamal, ”tweeted fiancée Hatice Cengiz. Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi regime after being close to it, was assassinated and his body cut to pieces on October 2, 2018 at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul where he went to retrieve a document.
Her children said on Friday that they were " forgiving " the murderers of their father, an announcement that should allow the accused to escape the death penalty, analysts said. Saudi authorities have not publicly responded to the announcement. After an opaque trial in Saudi Arabia, five Saudis were sentenced to death and three sentenced to prison terms for the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. A total of 11 people had been charged.
The verdict, pronounced in December, has been called a " travesty of justice " by international human rights organizations. After denying the assassination, authorities in Riyadh said it was committed by Saudi agents who acted alone and without orders from senior officials. But Turkish and American officials have named Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, nicknamed MBS, as the sponsor of the murder.