Istanbul (AFP)
Journalist Jamal Khashoggi's Turkish fiancée, murdered by Saudi agents in Istanbul, said on Friday that "no one has the right to forgive his murderers", after the lenient gesture announced by the sons of the deceased.
"The trap set for him and his heinous murder have no limitation period and no one has the right to forgive his murderers. We will not stop until justice is done for Jamal", tweeted the bride, Hatice Cengiz.
"Everyone knows that there is neither freedom nor justice in Saudi Arabia under the current regime," she added in statements sent to AFP.
According to her, Jamal Khashoggi "has become an international symbol and his murder is an international crime which must be tried before an independent court".
"No law, whether international, Saudi or Islamic, should allow those responsible for this monstrous crime to be released," she said.
Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi regime after being close to it, was assassinated and his body cut into pieces on October 2, 2018 at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul where he went to retrieve a document.
Her children said on Friday that they were "forgiving" the murderers of their father, an announcement that should allow the accused to escape the death penalty, analysts said.
After an opaque trial in Saudi Arabia, five Saudis were sentenced to death and three sentenced to prison terms for the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. A total of 11 people had been charged.
The verdict, pronounced in December, has been called a "travesty of justice" by international human rights organizations.
After denying the assassination, authorities in Riyadh said it was committed by Saudi agents who acted alone and without orders from senior officials.
But Turkish and American officials have named Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, nicknamed MBS, as the sponsor of the murder.
© 2020 AFP