The file had become too cumbersome.

Thursday, Turkey had decided to offload the Khashoggi trial, more than three years after the murder of the Saudi journalist in Istanbul, by sending him to Saudi Arabia.

The final hearing of the trial in absentia opened in July 2020 of twenty-six accused Saudis lasted only a few minutes before the judge of the Istanbul court expressed the decision to close the case.

The suspense was very limited: the Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag had announced that he had given a positive opinion to the request of the prosecutor, who wanted to "close and transfer the file" to Riyadh.

For Turkey, which seeks to reconnect with the Saudi kingdom it needs to support its struggling economy, it was urgent to close this affair which pollutes their relations.

The bride appeals

But the transfer of the file will not be so simple.

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi, who was waiting for him in front of the Saudi consulate on the day of the murder, immediately announced an appeal.

“We are not ruled here by a family, like in Saudi Arabia.

We have a judicial system that responds to the grievances of citizens: as such, we will appeal, ”she told the press outside the court.

For her, the Turkish prosecutor satisfied “Saudi requests”: “We know very well that the authorities will do nothing.

How can we imagine that the assassins will investigate on their own?

One of his lawyers, Me Gokmen Baspinar, believes that "this decision to transfer the file goes against the law" and "constitutes a violation of Turkish sovereignty".

“There are no prosecutions in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi authorities have already closed the trial and decided to acquit many suspects,” the defender recalled.

Erdogan has changed his tune

Rights organizations have in recent days denounced a first-class burial at the request of the Saudi authorities, with the Khashoggi case constituting the ultimate obstacle to rapprochement between the two Sunni regional powers.

"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”.

However, at the start of the affair, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had promised to “do everything” to elucidate this “political” and “premeditated” murder, which he described as “barbaric assassination”.

But Ankara, in the grip of an economic crisis linked to the collapse of its currency and high inflation of more than 60% over the last twelve months, is seeking rapprochement with the Saudi monarchy.

Opaque trial in Saudi Arabia

On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi journalist and critical columnist for the American daily The Washington Post, was murdered and his body dismembered inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul where he came to ask for a document necessary for his marriage, according to Turkey.

A US intelligence report accuses Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of having "validated" the assassination, carried out by a commando of agents from Saudi Arabia.

After denying the murder, Ryad ended up saying that it had been committed by Saudi agents who acted alone.

After an opaque trial in Saudi Arabia, five Saudis were sentenced to death and three to prison terms.

The death sentences have since been commuted.

World

Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi: Turkish prosecutor wants to "close the file" and send it to Saudi Arabia

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  • Turkey

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