Turkey got rid of the cumbersome Khashoggi file on Thursday, April 7, by sending it back to Saudi Arabia, more than three years after the tragic assassination of the Saudi journalist in Istanbul. Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi, who was waiting for him outside the Saudi consulate on the day of the murder, October 2, 2018, immediately announced his lawyers’ decision to appeal.
The final hearing of the trial in absentia opened in July 2020 of twenty-six accused Saudis lasted a few minutes before the judge of the Istanbul court expressed the decision to close the case. The suspense was very limited: the Turkish Minister of Justice, Bekir Bozdag, had announced that he had given a positive opinion at the request of the prosecutor, who wanted “close and transfer the file” in Riyadh.
The case polluted relations
For Turkey, which seeks to reconnect with the Saudi kingdom, which it needs to support its struggling economy, it was urgent to close this affair which pollutes their relations.
“We are not ruled here by a family, like in Saudi Arabia. We have a judicial system that responds to the grievances of citizens: as such, we will appeal”quickly announced Mr.me Cengiz to the press in court. For her, the Turkish prosecutor satisfied the “Saudi demands” :
We know very well that the authorities will do nothing. How can we imagine that the assassins will investigate on their own?
For one of his lawyers, Mr.and Gokmen Baspinar, “this decision to transfer the file goes against the law” and “constitutes a violation of Turkish sovereignty”. “There are no prosecutions in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi authorities have already closed the trial and decided to acquit many suspects”recalled the defender.
Human rights organizations have denounced in recent days a first-class burial at the request of the Saudi authorities, the Khashoggi case constituting the ultimate obstacle to rapprochement between the two Sunni regional powers.
“Turkey sends a frightening signal”
“The court agreed to transfer the case to Saudi Arabia just like that, in one sentence, without even [prévenir] the lawyers of the rejection of their requests “was indignant at Twitter Milena Büyüm, a representative of Amnesty International in Turkey.
For Erol Önderoglu, representative of Reporters Without Borders in Istanbul, this decision means “Turkey is sending a chilling signal about its respect for press freedom”.
On October 2, 2018, the 59-year-old Saudi journalist, critical columnist for the American daily The Washington Posthad been murdered and his body dismembered inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul where he came to ask for a document necessary for his marriage, according to Turkey.
The Istanbul prosecutor had defended his position by arguing that “the case is dragging on, because the orders of the court cannot be executed, the defendants being foreign nationals”.
On the day of the murder, Mme Cengiz was waiting for the victim on the street, but her fiancé never reappeared and his remains were never found. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan then promised to ” do everything “ to solve the murder ” Politics “ and “premeditated”which he called “barbaric assassination”.
But Ankara, in the grip of an economic crisis linked to the collapse of its currency and high inflation – more than 60% over the last twelve months – is seeking rapprochement with the Saudi monarchy.
The head of state, who has been multiplying reconciliation initiatives with regional powers for several months – United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Israel, among others – announced at the beginning of January an imminent visit to Saudi Arabia. However, he does not seem to have received an invitation yet.
A US intelligence report accuses Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of having “validated” the assassination, carried out by a commando of agents from Saudi Arabia. After denying the murder, Riyadh ended up saying that it had been committed by Saudi agents who acted alone.
After an opaque trial in Saudi Arabia, five Saudis were sentenced to death and three to prison terms – the death sentences have since been commuted.
