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SAUDI-US-CRIME-DIPLOMACY
Khashoggi killing: sons ask Saudis to return his body
WASHINGTON, Nov 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The sons of murdered journalist Jamal
Khashoggi have asked Saudi authorities to return the body of their father so
the family can properly grieve, they told CNN in an interview aired Sunday.
Khashoggi was killed inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul by a team
sent from Riyadh on October 2, a murder Turkey’s president said was ordered
from “the highest levels” of Saudi Arabia’s government.
“I really hope that whatever happened wasn’t painful for him, or it was
quick. Or he had a peaceful death,” Abdullah Khashoggi told the US network
during the interview in Washington.
His brother Salah said “all what we want right now is to bury him in Al
Baqi in Medina with the rest of his family,” referencing a cemetery in Saudi
Arabia.
“I talked about that with the Saudi authorities and I just hope that it
happens soon.”
Turkey’s chief prosecutor said recently that Khashoggi was strangled as
soon as he entered the consulate and also confirmed the body was dismembered.
Yasin Aktay, an advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, hinted
in an article published on Friday that the body may even have been destroyed
in acid.
Khashoggi’s killing has provoked widespread outrage and sharp criticism
from Washington, usually the staunchest of allies.
Khashoggi’s sons voiced worry that the work of their father, a columnist
for The Washington Post, was being distorted for political reasons.
“I see a lot of people coming out right now and trying to claim his legacy
and unfortunately some of them are using that in a political way that we
totally don’t agree with,” Salah told CNN. “My fear is that it’s being over
politicized.”
“Jamal was never a dissident. He believed in the monarchy, that it is the
thing that is keeping the country together.”
The brothers said they have relied primarily on news reports to piece
together an understanding of their father’s death.
“There’s a lot of ups and downs…. We’re trying to get the story — bits
and pieces of the story to complete the whole picture,” Abdullah said. “It’s
confusing and difficult.”
“It’s not a normal situation and not a normal death.”
Salah emphasized that “the King has stressed that everybody will be
brought to justice. And I have faith in that.”
The murdered journalist’s fiancee meanwhile has called on US President
Donald Trump to back Turkey’s efforts to probe the death.
BSS/AFP/MR/1050 hrs