Turkey urges international media to pursue Khashoggi case after ‘sham trial’

Turkish officials on Tuesday urged international media not to cease investigating the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi Consulate last October after the Saudi government sentenced five people in connection with the death, according to Reuters.

Turkish communications director Fahrettin Altun blasted the Saudi court’s findings that Khashoggi’s killing was carried out “at the spur of the moment,” contradicting the findings of a United Nations inquiry. The court sentenced five men to death and another three to life in prison.

“The international media must pursue the case of Khashoggi until there is true accountability. … Those responsible must face justice sooner or later,” Altun tweeted, saying the verdict of the “sham trial” was “an insult to the intelligence of any fair observer.”

“This despicable murder was done at a diplomatic facility against every diplomatic norm imaginable! … We will follow this case to the end regardless how high it goes,” he added.

This despicable murder was done at a diplomatic facility against every diplomatic norm imaginable! It is unconscionable and unacceptable. We will follow this case to the end regardless how high it goes. We call on international media to continue investigating this heinous act.

— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) December 24, 2019

Numerous government agencies, including the CIA, have pinned the order to kill Khashoggi on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, of whom Khashoggi was a vocal critic. The crown prince has conceded the murder “happened under my watch,” but the Saudi government has denied he ordered or approved it.

Key U.S. agencies rejected the Saudi court’s findings, saying the men sentenced to death were low-level pawns and that two acquitted senior security officials were far more intimately involved, according to Reuters, citing a source familiar with U.S. intelligence estimates. The source added that CIA officials still believe the crown prince personally signed off on or ordered the killing.