Turkey transfers Khashoggi case to Saudi Arabia, fiancée appeals
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
(Illustration) AFP/File
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Turkey announced on Thursday that it had transferred the Jamal Khashoggi assassination case to Saudi Arabia.
The journalist's fiancée subsequently announced that she would appeal this decision.
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Twenty-six Saudis were
on trial in Turkey
in court in the case of the murder and dismemberment of the body, inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in 2018, of Saudi journalist and
Washington Post
contributor Jamal Khashoggi .
But this Thursday, after a few minutes of hearing, the judge of the Istanbul court announced his decision to close the file.
The Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag had previously given a positive opinion to the request of the prosecutor,
who wished to "
close and transfer the file
"
to Saudi Arabia.
However, at the start of the affair, Turkey had questioned the Saudi authorities and had promised to do justice to the journalist, whose remains have never been found, reports our correspondent in Istanbul,
Anne Andlauer.
But this case was becoming very cumbersome for the Turkish regime, which wants better relations with the Saudi kingdom to support its struggling economy.
President Erdogan is counting heavily on this rapprochement, like those undertaken with the
United Arab Emirates
,
Israel
and
Egypt
, to offset the fall in the currency and inflation over one year of more than 60%.
While Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia had fallen by more than 90% since the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, they increased by more than 25% in the first quarter of 2022. The Turkish head of state now hopes to seal the reconciliation with a visit to Riyadh in the coming weeks.
To justify the court decision, the Turkish authorities put forward technical reasons.
Saudi Arabia has never cooperated with Turkish justice and the 26 defendants – all Saudis and currently outside Turkey – have never been heard.
In reality, Ankara gave in to pressure from Riyadh by burying the affair.
"Violation of Turkish sovereignty
"
As soon as she left the court, Hatice Cengiz, the journalist's fiancée who was waiting for her companion in front of the Saudi consulate on the day of the events, announced that she was
appealing this decision.
“
We are not ruled here by a family, like in Saudi Arabia.
We have a judicial system that responds to citizens' grievances: as such, we will appeal
,” Ms. Cengiz told the press.
According to her, the Turkish prosecutor was satisfying "
Saudi requests
".
“
We know very well that the authorities will do nothing.
How can we imagine that the assassins will investigate on their own
?
“, she added.
"
This decision to transfer the file goes against the law" and "constitutes a violation of Turkish sovereignty
", added one of his lawyers, Me Gokmen Baspinar.
"
The court agreed to transfer the case to Saudi Arabia like that, in one sentence, without even (notifying) the lawyers of the rejection of their requests
", was indignant on Twitter Milena Büyüm, a representative of Amnesty International in Turkey.
For Erol Önderoglu, Reporters Without Borders representative in Istanbul, with this decision, “
Turkey is sending a frightening signal regarding the respect it gives to freedom of the press
”.
(and with AFP)
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