Sons of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi reveal they have forgiven his killers
- Khashoggi was hacked to pieces inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018
- Washington Post journalist had been critical of Crown Prince of the Kingdom
- CIA said it believed Mohammed bin Salman ordered his death
- Tonight, in the spirit of Ramadan, Khashoggi’s sons forgave their father’s killers
The sons of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said Friday that they ‘forgive’ the killers of their father.
‘We the sons of martyr Jamal Khashoggi announce we forgive and pardon those who killed our father,’ the Washington Post columnist’s son Salah Khashoggi announced on Twitter.
Khashoggi was hacked to pieces at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The CIA said it believed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered his killing following critical pieces written by Khashoggi about the Saudi regime.
The tweet posted in Arabic said: ‘In this blessed night of the blessed month (of Ramadan) we remember God’s saying: ‘If a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah.’
Jamal Khashoggi attending a press conference in the Bahraini capital Manama in 2014. He was brutally killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018
The tweet posted in Arabic said: ‘In this blessed night of the blessed month (of Ramadan) we remember God’s saying: ‘If a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah.’ ‘Therefore we the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi announce we pardon and forgive those who killed our father, seeking reward God almighty.’
Salah Khashoggi, left, shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a meeting in October 2018 to discuss compensation for his father’s murder
‘Therefore we the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi announce we pardon and forgive those who killed our father, seeking reward God almighty.’
Khashoggi was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, where he had gone to obtain documents for his impending wedding.
His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found.
The murder caused a global uproar, tarnishing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s image.
Some Western governments, as well as the CIA, said they believed he had ordered the killing.
Saudi officials say he had no role, though in September 2019 MbS indicated some personal accountability, saying ‘it happened under my watch’.
Saudi Arabia sentenced five people to death and three to jail over the murder of Khashoggi last December.
Khashoggi was hacked to pieces at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The CIA said it believed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered his killing following critical pieces written by Khashoggi about the Saudi regime.
The suspects were put on trial in secretive proceedings in the capital Riyadh.
The trials were condemned by the United Nations and rights groups.
U.N. special rapporteur for extrajudicial summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, accused Saudi Arabia of making a ‘mockery’ of justice by allowing the masterminds of the 2018 killing to go free.
However, Salah Khashoggi said of the December verdict that ‘it has been fair to us and that justice has been achieved.’