Salah Khashoggi, son of the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said in a tweet on Twitter that he and his brothers have pardoned those who killed their father, without mentioning the identity of the perpetrator.
The brief statement published by Salah Khashoggi came at dawn today, Friday; We announce - we are the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi - I am pardoning who killed our father - may God have mercy on him - for the face of God Almighty.
On the other hand, Yahya Asiri, the Saudi opposition activist in the Diaspora, described in a tweet on Twitter the case of Khashoggi’s murder “not family or personal”, nor as a mistake.
Asiri said that Saudi authorities had killed Khashoggi because of his political work.
Saudi activists and opponents indicated that the Saudi prosecution’s adaptation of the case from its beginning in the context of retribution suggested the direction of the path of pardon by the family, stressing that the crime is a “killing killing” in which pardons are not accepted.
pic.twitter.com/oSpAZxSniO
- salah khashoggi (@salahkhashoggi) May 21, 2020
This is a statement from a number of politicians and activists, we renew, remember and explain to those who are neither politically nor legally aware:
the killing case # Jamal Khashoggi is not a family issue, it is not a mistake to kill in a natural context!
No one killed him because of a personal situation, and his family interfered!
It is a crime of authorities. The authorities killed him because of his political work. His case is political, so keep silent! https://t.co/ok7yeJgHkm
- Yahya Assiri Yahya Assiri # Muqsitoon (@ abo1fares) May 21, 2020
Adapting the punishment according to the Public Prosecution office “retribution” from the beginning clarifies the clear intention to exonerate the Khashoggi killers or to go the path of “pardon” by the family.
Unfortunately, this is what was expected.
The murder of the martyr Khashoggi is a murder, which will not be subject to statute of limitations, as well as the assassination and abuse of power, in addition to other crimes. https://t.co/WWmmJnn96g
- Dr. Abdullah Al-Awda (@aalodah) May 22, 2020
The assassination of Khashoggi sparked global outrage, and CIA reports and Western governments said they believed that Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman issued orders to kill Khashoggi.
Last September, the Saudi crown prince indicated that he assumed some personal responsibility for the crime as "it took place during his reign."
Last December, the Saudi judiciary issued preliminary rulings in the case, according to which three prominent officials were acquitted of the crime: Saud Al-Qahtani, former adviser to the Saudi crown prince, Saudi consul in Istanbul Muhammad al-Otaibi, and Major General Ahmed Asiri, former deputy director of intelligence.
At the same time, five people were sentenced to death and three others were imprisoned for 24 years. The prosecution did not reveal the names of the convicts.
These judgments have received criticism from international bodies that have seen the kingdom try to avoid holding the true perpetrators of Khashoggi’s murder assassinated.
At the time, Chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff said that these provisions are a continuation of the kingdom's efforts to distance Saudi leaders - including the crown prince - from the brutal assassination of Khashoggi, adding that the crime was deliberate, and was not the result of a sudden decision or abnormal process, he said.
The UN rapporteur for extrajudicial executions, Anis Calamar, said that the verdicts of those accused of Khashoggi's murder are ridiculous, adding that "the masterminds of the crime are not only free, but almost unaffected by the investigation and trial, and this is the opposite of justice."
The Turkish authorities had accused her Saudi counterpart of sending a team of 15 people - including security officials - to kill Khashoggi in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, after he was lured to the Saudi consulate in the city.
Ankara has demanded that the accused be extradited for trial in Turkey, but the Saudi authorities have refused this, and have announced an investigation into the case and the trial of those involved in it, according to Saudi law.