Murder of Jamal Khashoggi: Turkish prosecutors drop investigations

Created: 04/08/2022Updated: 04/08/2022 01:58

There is a turning point in the case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul in 2018.

Istanbul – The Turkish public prosecutor's office is closing its investigation into the case of the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi* and handing over the case to Saudi Arabia.

The indictment was thus officially dropped.

The Turkish authorities' decision has caused outrage among human rights organizations and journalists' associations.

The Turkish Ministry of Justice had previously approved the prosecution's request.

Amnesty International's Milena Büyüm said on Twitter that the case would be handed over to those responsible for the murder.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) previously said it was deeply concerned by Turkey's Justice Ministry's announcement that it would drop the trial in the murder of the Saudi Arabian journalist and hand the case over to Saudi Arabia.

"We call on Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag and the Turkish courts to do their part to fight impunity for this horrible crime and bring the case to an end," RSF Managing Director Christian Mihr said in a press release.

Jamal Khashoggi: Do economic interests play a role?

After the murder of the Washington Post columnist in October 2018, there was an ice age between Turkey and Saudi Arabia*.

Although the murder took place in the Saudi Consulate General, one should not forget that it happened on Turkish soil, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan* promised at the time and announced clarification.

This video still made available by Turkish broadcaster TRT World on October 2, 2018 allegedly shows Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi before entering the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul.

© dpa

Relations between Turkey* and Saudi Arabia had deteriorated with the Khashoggi case.

Riyadh later imposed an embargo on Turkish goods.

It wasn't until the beginning of the year that there were conciliatory voices from Ankara.

In February, Erdogan announced that he wanted to visit Saudi Arabia *, but he did not give a date.

In the Khashoggi case, in which Turkey was investigating, according to Euronews Turkish, 26 people have been charged in Istanbul so far.

They are Saudi consulate employees and intelligence officials.

Jamal Khashoggi: Normalization expected between Turkey and Saudi Arabia

The cessation of investigations into the case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi should improve relations between Erdogan and the Saudi royal family.

The Turkish President said in February that he wanted to take concrete steps to do this.

(Erkan Pehlivan) *