Turkish FM says country ‘not satisfied, may seek a formal UN inquiry’; The Washington Post denounces Trump’s decision to refrain from punishing Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi’s death.
US senators have accused President Donald Trump of putting “Saudi Arabia first” in his decision to not act against the kingdom or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Al-Jazeera reported.
Khashoggi entered the building on October 2 to obtain documentation certifying he had divorced his ex-wife. He was not seen since.
Saudi Arabia has admitted that the Saudi critic died in a premeditated murder inside its Istanbul consulate – after weeks of consistent denials that it had anything to do with his disappearance.
Turkish media have reported Khashoggi was killed and dismembered based on recordings from the consulate. They say he died at the hands of a 15-member assassination squad from Saudi Arabia.
ALSO READ: Crimes against Journalists: Who was Jamal Khashoggi and what his killing means for press freedom
Trump’s decision is “yet another fawning prostration to a foreign authoritarian”, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine tweeted on Tuesday.
This is a slap in the face to the American intelligence officers who work daily to protect our country.
And it’s yet another fawning prostration to a foreign authoritarian. It’s only a matter of time until actions like this by the President directly threaten our security. https://t.co/raUfhTh96q
— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) November 20, 2018
“It’s only a matter of time until actions like this one by the president directly threaten our security,” he added.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post has denounced Trump’s decision to refrain from punishing Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi’s death.
Khashoggi was a columnist in the newspaper who wrote critically on the Saudi royal family.
In a statement published on Twitter, Washington Post Publisher Fred Ryan accused Trump of putting personal relationships and commercial interests above American values of respect for human rights to continue to “do business as usual” with the Saudi crown prince.
Statement from Washington Post Publisher and CEO Fred Ryan in response to President Trump’s statement today regarding the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. pic.twitter.com/JJzw9yaU6Z
— Washington Post PR (@WashPostPR) November 20, 2018
Ryan stated the CIA had “concluded with high confidence” that Prince Mohammed directed the October 2 killing. Ryan added if there is reason to doubt these findings, Trump should immediately make that evidence public.
Trump said the CIA never made a “definitive” conclusion about who was responsible.
Moreover, Turkey’s foreign minister Tuesday said they ‘may seek a formal United Nations inquiry over Khashoggi’s killing if its liaising with Riyadh comes to an impasse’.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey is not entirely satisfied with the level of cooperation it is receiving from Saudi Arabia over the case.
“Whoever gave the instruction should be held accountable… Whoever committed this crime should be brought to justice,” Cavusoglu said.
Reiterating their position that the truth had to come out on who gave the orders to kill the journalist, Cavusoglu said his country has shared the latest information on the killing with the US.
