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LONDON (Reuters) – Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancée said the Saudi authorities were responsible for his assassination and that the kingdom should give more details so that those who ordered and executed the murder could be brought to justice.
Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, was seen in an interview with Reuters in London on October 29, 2018. REUTERS / Dylan Martinez
The death of Khashoggi – a Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – sparked global outrage and provoked the crisis of the world's largest oil exporter.
When his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, told Reuters in Turkish: "It happened in a Saudi diplomatic mission … In such circumstances, the Saudi authorities are responsible."
"This incident, this murder took place at the consulate of Saudi Arabia," she said, speaking through a translator. "The Saudi authorities therefore probably know how such a murder took place."
"They need to explain what happened," said Cengiz, who was dark, watched and sometimes seemed on the verge of tears.
US President Donald Trump said that Prince Mohammed, who had consolidated control of Saudi security and intelligence agencies over the past three years, was responsible for the operation that led to the war. assassination of Khashoggi.
When asked what she would tell Prince Mohammed if she had the opportunity to talk to her, she replied, "I do not think that will ever happen."
Cengiz then told an audience that she was disappointed with Trump's reaction to the assassination, suggesting that his business relations with Riyadh had influenced his approach to the case.
Khashoggi, 59, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October to obtain the necessary documents for his next marriage to Cengiz, a Turkish national. He did not leave the consulate. Cengiz sounded the alarm first.
Saudi Arabia initially denied any involvement in Khashoggi's disappearance, but a Saudi official finally attributed his death to a botched attempt to send him back to the kingdom.
Riyadh later stated that the murder was premeditated and that Prince Mohammed had promised that the killers would be brought to justice.
Saudi Arabia arrested 18 people and fired five top government officials in the investigation into Khashoggi's murder. Some were part of a 15-member strike team, many of them Saudi intelligence agents, who arrived in Istanbul a few hours before Khashoggi's death, security sources said.
MURDER IN ISTANBUL
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whom Cengiz has praised, urged Riyadh to reveal the identity of the author of the assassination and prosecutors have prepared a request for extradition of 18 suspects from of Saudi Arabia.
"The explanations given so far by Saudi Arabia are not enough," said Cengiz. "I want to know the details of who is responsible."
When asked if she held Crown Prince Mohammed or the Saudi royal family accountable, she replied:
"My Government and I want all those responsible, from the person who gave this order to those who executed it, to be brought to justice and punished by international law," she said.
Cengiz said she was not contacted by Prince Mohammed or the Saudi royal family, nor presented any condolences from them.
Speaking in central London, she said that the West was considered a stronghold of human rights and democracy. He should therefore resist the murderers of his future husband.
"I am disappointed by the actions of leaders in many countries, especially the United States," she then told an audience in London.
"President Trump should help reveal the truth and ensure justice is done. It should not pave the way for a concealment of my fiancé's murder. Let's not let the money defile our conscience and compromise our values. "
Trump has covered his criticism of Saudi leaders over Khashoggi, insisting that he does not want to jeopardize a "huge order" of $ 110 billion worth of weapons, which would support 500,000 US jobs – very low numbers. exaggerated according to the experts.
Cengiz met Khashoggi in May at a conference in Istanbul and their relationship flourished. But the decision to marry in Istanbul, whose mosques reminded her home town of Khashoggi, Medina, sparked a paper chase that eventually led to her death.
Turkish law required that Khashoggi, who was divorced, provide proof that he had no wife and therefore his trip to the consulate. Cengiz said that she had not been shown any records of what had happened inside the consulate and that she had pulled the bulk of her media information.
"Like everyone, I'm still waiting for answers," she said. "The world must know who is the instigator, has been involved and committed this crime."
Written by Guy Faulconbridge; Edited by Kevin Liffey, William Maclean
