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Fiancee of Khashoggi Sues Saudi Crown Prince Over Journalist’s Murder

Washington: The Turkish fiancee of killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi has sued Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, blaming him for ordering the murder, the media report said.

The civil lawsuit was registered on Tuesday in Washington D.C. by Hatice Cengiz and Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn), a rights group Khashoggi, who had been living in purposeful exile in the US, established before his passing, the BBC announced.

In the claim, Cengiz alleged personal injury and financial losses over Khashoggi’s passing, while the rights group affirmed that its tasks were hampered.

The BBC cited the lawsuit as stating, “The objective of the murder was clear, to halt Khashoggi’s advocacy in the US for democratic reform in the Arab world.”

It included that Khashoggi, additionally a well-known critic of the Saudi government, was killed “pursuant to a directive of defendant Mohammed bin Salman“.

In the wake of registering the lawsuit, the attorneys for Cengiz and the rights body stated in a video meeting that its focus was to have a US court conduct the Crown Prince liable for the murdering and to obtain the documents that expose the truth.

In an announcement, Cengiz stated, “Jamal believed anything was possible in America and I place my trust in the American civil justice system to obtain a measure of justice and accountability.”

Khashoggi, a renowned journalist known to have covered the Soviet intrusion of Afghanistan and the ascent of the late Al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden, was executed by a group of Saudi operatives during a visit to the Kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, to acquire papers he required so as to wed Cengiz.

In its inquiry, the Saudi public prosecution settled that the murder was not planned, the BBC revealed.

It stated the execution was ordered by the leader of a “negotiations team” given to Istanbul to take Khashoggi back to the Kingdom “by means of persuasion” or, if that failed, “by force”.

The killed journalist’s remains stay missing to date.

Last December, the Riyadh Criminal Court punished five individuals to death for “committing and directly participating in the murder of the victim” while three others were given jail sentences totaling 24 years for “covering up this crime and breaking the law”.

Yet, the state media announced in the prior month that the five death punishments were commuted to 20-year prison terms.

The Crown Prince has rejected any claims of involvement in the killing.

 

source: with input from ians