Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shook hands with Salah Khashoggi on October 23, 2018 [File/Saudi Press Agency/AP]
The son of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has released a statement via Twitter forgiving his killers.
In the statement, posted on Friday, Salah Khashoggi said his family pardons those who took the reporter’s life in 2018 when he visited the Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul.
“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 that we pardon those who killed our father, seeking reward God almighty” he added.
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Khashoggi was last seen at the Saudi consulate where he had gone to get the necessary documents for his wedding. His body was dismembered and removed from the building and his remains have not been found.
The murder caused a global uproar. Some Western governments, as well as the CIA, said they believed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ordered the killing.
pic.twitter.com/oSpAZxSniO
— salah khashoggi (@salahkhashoggi) May 21, 2020
Saudi officials say he had no role, although in September 2019 MBS indicated some personal accountability, saying the grisly killing “happened under my watch”.
Saudi Arabia sentenced five people to death and three to jail over Khashoggi’s murder last December. The suspects were put on trial in secretive proceedings in the capital Riyadh.
The trials were condemned by the United Nations and rights groups. UN 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: “It has been fair to us and that justice has been achieved.”
Under Islamic law, death sentences in Saudi Arabia can be commuted if the victim’s family pardons the perpetrator, but it is not clear whether that will happen in this case.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
