{O/C} A Turkish court has decided to cease the trial of 26 Saudi suspects accused of murdering Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi as it handed over the symbolic trial to Saudi Arabia.
{SOT}
In a move that's dealt a body blow to human rights advocates who had held out hope of bringing justice to the 26 suspects accused of murdering and dismembering Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi back in 2018, Turkey decided to hand over the trial of the suspects to Saudi Arabia.
The decision coincided with efforts by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to mend fences with Saudi Arabia and a multitude of other countries in the area amid the economic downturn.
Sources say Saudi Arabia is willing to improve relations given Turkey drops the case.
This, as the prosecutor in the case recommended the trial be handed over to Saudi Arabia, contending the trial in Turkey would remain generally inconclusive.
The recommendation was backed by Turkey's justice minister, who promised to resume the trial should the outcome of the trial in Saudi Arabia be unsatisfactory.
Khashoggi, who was a U.S. resident critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed on October 2nd, 2018, at the Saudi Consulate in Istabul when he visited for appointment to collect documents entailed to marry his Turkish fiancee.
A bitter pill to swallow for those who expected justice.
A lawyer for Khashoggi's Turkish fiancee was appalled by the decision. He said justice scarcely existed in Saudi Arabia.
And the Turkey director for the New York-based Human Rights Watch called it a scandal, accusing Turkey of allowing repairing ties to take precedence over justice in such a grisly and egregious murder trial.
The decision is expected to make Turkey a breeding ground for assassinations as the perpetrators are likely to get away with their crimes without being in the law's crosshairs.
Коментарі