By Janet Ekstract
UNITED NATIONS (TURKISH JOURNAL) – It was exactly one year ago on October 2, 2018 that Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered by Saudi agents at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. And it’s exactly one year later that on October 2, 2019 – a vigil was held in front of that same consulate to honor and to remember Jamal Khashoggi.
Khashoggi had been an embassy spokesperson, a prominent Saudi journalist and a Saudi government insider who at one time, had actually been a supporter of Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman. Much later in his life, Khashoggi left for America settling in Washington D.C. and became a columnist for The Washington Post, often critical of the Saudi regime in his articles.
Attending the vigil.on the one year anniversary of his death was his Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz and Amazon Founder, CEO and Washington Post owner, Jeff Bezos.
Khashoggi’s fiancee said she still seeks justice and still wants answers from the Saudi government, answers that have not been forthcoming.
Bezos spoke to Cengiz, expressing the following: “No one should have to endure what you did.” Right here where you are, you paced that street for hours, pacing and waiting. And he never came out. It’s unimaginable. And you need to know that you are in our hearts. We are here and you’re not alone.”
One year ago today as Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, little did he suspect what awaited him. The reason he went to the Saudi Consulate was to collect some documents for his upcoming nuptials to his Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz.
His fiancee says she will not stop seeking answers about his death.
One of the more vexing questions surrounding Khashoggi’s murder is that his remains have yet to be recovered.
Turkish president Erdogan has repeatedly insisted on a full investigation into Khashoggi’s murder and said that Turkish intelligence had evidence that the murder was ordered by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman.
The CIA reported the same evidence.
The United Nations had prepared a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, Agnes Callamard. Callamard’s report described the circumstances of Khashoggi’s death and stated it was a case of enforced disappearance, calling on Saudi authorities to assist with investigations.
Saudi Arabia is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture which it ratified in 1997.
Turkish investigators were given limited access to the Saudi Consulate to search for evidence. Robotic cameras were used to try to locate his remains.
A year ago, the Istanbul ‘s Chief Public Prosecutor’s office reported how Khashoggi was killed -indicating his body was dismembered.
Recently, in an interview with 60 Minutes, the Saudi Crown Prince admitted he bore responsibility for Khashoggi’s death but never admitted to ordering the murder.
It is clearly Hatice Cengiz who is left bereft and still with no more answers than she had before.
