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Jamal Khashoggi at the World Economic Forum 2011 in Davos
Photo: Virginia Mayo / AP
On October 2, 2018, the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Istanbul by a 15-member secret service from Riyadh.
For a long time it was unclear whether and how Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in the murder.
According to the US intelligence services, one thing is clear: he personally approved the capture or killing of the Saudi Arabian journalist.
The fiancée Khashoggis has now demanded the "immediate" punishment of Salman.
"It is imperative that the Crown Prince who ordered the murder of an innocent person is punished immediately," said Hatice Cengiz, who lives in Turkey.
On the one hand, this would do justice to her murdered fiancé, on the other hand, "similar acts could be prevented in the future."
The US government made the Saudi crown prince jointly responsible for the murder of Khashoggi for the first time on Friday.
"According to our assessment, the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to seize or kill the Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi," said the partially blackened report released by US intelligence coordinator Avril Haines .
Washington did not, however, impose any sanctions on bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia denies the allegations.
Chopped up and taken away
"I welcome the publication of the US report," said Cengiz.
The "truth" was thereby "confirmed".
"But that is not enough, because the truth only has meaning if it serves to enforce justice." If the Crown Prince is not punished, it is a constant signal that "the person primarily responsible can kill without punishment."
Governments around the world would have to wonder if they wanted to shake hands with someone whose guilt was proven.
At the time, Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.
His body was dismembered and taken away.
At that time the journalist was living in exile in the United States, where he wrote for the Washington Post. He wanted to collect documents from the consulate for his marriage to Cengiz.
Riyadh had initially denied the killing of Khashoggi.
Later, in an opaque trial in Saudi Arabia, five Saudi citizens were sentenced to death and three others were sentenced to prison terms.
The death sentences have since been turned into prison terms.
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mrc / AFP / Reuters