The Istanbul prosecutor has asked to "
close the file
" in the case of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist murdered in Turkey in 2018, so that he can be transferred to Saudi Arabia, Turkish media reported on Thursday March 31.
According to the private DHA news agency, the prosecutor argued that "
the case is dragging on because court orders cannot be carried out, as the defendants are foreign nationals
".
The request was confirmed by Khashoggi's fiancée on Twitter.
Read alsoKhashoggi's widow urges the United States to hold Saudi Arabia to account
"
During today's hearing (...), the prosecutor requested, in accordance with the Saudi request, the transfer of the file to Saudi Arabia and its finalization in Turkey
", indicated Hatice Cengiz.
In an interview with AFP at the end of February, Hatice Cengiz urged Turkey to "
insist on justice being done
" and not to give up the benefit of a rapprochement with Riyadh.
A trial opened in July 2020
The trial of 26 Saudi nationals accused by Turkey of murdering Jamal Khashoggi opened in July 2020, in their absence.
The next hearing is scheduled for April 7.
The murder of Jamal Khashoggi, killed and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, poisons relations between the two Sunni regional powers.
But Ankara, in the grip of an economic crisis and inflation at its highest for 20 years, has been seeking a rapprochement with Riyadh for several months.
The 59-year-old Saudi journalist, critic of the power of the Saudi royal family and contributor to the Washington Post, was murdered and his body cut up on October 2, 2018 inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, where he had been returned to obtain a document, according to Turkey.
His remains have never been found.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced an imminent visit to Saudi Arabia in early January - which has not taken place to date.
Read alsoKhashoggi: members of the commando trained in the United States, according to the
New York Times
Multiplying initiatives for several months to renew ties with several regional powers, Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared at the beginning of December that he wanted to develop Ankara's relations with the Gulf countries, “
without distinction
”.
Relations between Ankara and Riyadh deteriorated in 2017 during the blockade of Qatar, a close ally of Turkey, decreed by Saudi Arabia and followed by the Emirates.
