Khashoggi's Fiancee Rejects Sons' Decision on Killers

'No one has the right to pardon his killers,' says Hatice Cengiz
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 22, 2020 10:50 AM CDT
Khashoggi Supporters: His Sons Are Being Used
Hatice Cengiz, 37, fiancee of late journalist Jamal Khashoggi, gestures during a press conference in Rome on Dec. 17, 2019.   (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Jamal Khashoggi's former fiancee is no fan of his sons' decision to forgive the five Saudi agents convicted of the journalist's 2018 murder in Istanbul. "His ambush and heinous murder does not have a statue of limitations and no one has the right to pardon his killers," Hatice Cengiz tweeted Friday, per the BBC. "I and others will not stop until we get #JusticeForJamal," added Cengiz, a Turkish national. She said "the killers came from Saudi with premeditation to lure, ambush & kill him." The earlier statement from Salah Khashoggi, who lives in the Saudi city of Juddah and reportedly receives monthly compensation from the Saudi government, announced Khashoggi's five sons had forgiven the killers. Under the Saudi legal system, that clears the way for pardons, reports the Washington Post.

"The killers will walk free. Exonerated," tweeted Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur for extrajudicial summary or arbitrary executions who investigated Khashoggi's killing. "The Saudi authorities are playing out what they hope will be the final act in their well-rehearsed parody of justice in front of an international community far too ready to be deceived," she added. A statement signed by dozens of Saudi activists and politicians suggests Khashoggi's relatives are unable to speak freely, per Al Jazeera. "We reject the use of Saudi authorities of some of Khashoggi's family members to whitewash the country's judiciary and dwarfing Khashoggi's case," it reads. (More Jamal Khashoggi stories.)

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