In an emotional speech at a memorial service in London on Monday, the fiancée of slain Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi called out President Donald Trump, saying she was disappointed in his response to Khashoggi’s murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.

“I am deeply grateful for the solidarity of many people all over the world. I am however disappointed in the actions of the leadership in many countries, particularly in the U.S., President Trump,” Hatice Cengiz said.

“President Trump should help reveal the truth and ensure justice be served,” she said. “He should not pave the way for a cover-up of my fiancé’s murder. Let’s not let money taint our conscience and compromise our values.”

Cengiz, who last week declined Trump’s invitation to the White House, directed her remarks at some of Trump’s statements following the disappearance and murder of Khashoggi that appeared to downplay what happened to the Washington Post columnist and Saudi regime critic living in self-imposed exile in the U.S.

Soon after Khashoggi went missing after, Trump initially accepted the denials from the Saudi royal family of any involvement in Khashoggi’s death and said the U.S. would be punishing itself if it canceled a $120 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. More recently, Trump described Saudi Arabia’s handling of the Khashoggi case as the “worst cover-up in the history of cover-ups.”

Khashoggi, who was once a Saudi insider, became a critic of the country’s de facto ruler and crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, known by his initials MBS. After being attacked by officials close to MBS, Khashoggi left Saudi Arabia in 2017 and became a U.S. resident.

“Jamal was not a voice for the voiceless. Jamal became a voice for those who were silenced,” said Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations and close friend of Khashoggi who spoke at the memorial service.  

More than a dozen individuals, including journalists, activists and politicians spoke at Khashoggi’s memorial service hosted by Al Sharq Forum and the Middle East Monitor. Several of those who took the podium knew Khashoggi personally and described him as someone who loved his country and was deeply pained by going into exile.

On Oct. 2, Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for routine paperwork needed to marry Cengiz, a Turkish citizen, and was reported missing soon after.

The details of what happened from the time Khashoggi entered the diplomatic compound to the moment of his death remain unknown. Over the past several weeks, audio recordings have been leaked to Turkish media that purport to reveal how Khashoggi was killed. And reports based on those yet unreleased audio files give a gruesome account alleging that Khashoggi was tortured and decapitated.

The Saudi government initially said Khashoggi left their consulate unharmed on Oct. 2. Amid mounting international outrage, the kingdom then baderted that Khashoggi died after a “brawl” escalated inside the Saudi diplomatic facility. Last week, Saudi officials called his death a “premeditated murder,” marking the third time in as many weeks that the regime has changed its account.

The whereabouts of Khashoggi’s body and remains are unknown, prompting Cengiz’s calls for Saudi Arabia to hand over the journalist’s body.

“I want to bury the body of the beloved Jamal,” Cengiz said. “Therefore, I’m asking once again: Where is his body?”

Turkish government officials have also demanded the Saudis tell authorities the location of Khahoggi’s body and who ordered the murder.

Cengiz described her fiancé as a compbadionate man who was full of love and with whom she fell in love with. They had dreamt, she said, of a new future together.

“This was a dream we came so close to realizing when my beloved Jamal stepped into the Saudi consulate,” Cengiz said.  “He needed a simple bureaucratic document so we could marry and realize our hopes and dreams. Yet our dreams were stopped in their tracks and my world turned upside down on that horrific day.”

More: Fiancee of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi declines White House invitation: report

 

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