Khashoggi son warns against manipulating death
‘I won’t accept exploitation of father’s death anniversary to harm country, leadership’
Riyadh: The son of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has warned unnamed agencies against manipulating his father’s death to sully the reputation of the kingdom and its leaders.
Khashoggi was killed in October last year inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey.
In the aftermath, the Saudi prosecutor sought the death penalty against 11 Saudis arrested over suspected involvement in the murder that Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman has described in a TV interview aired this week as a “heinous crime”.
“One year has passed since my dear father’s departure, during which opponents and enemies of the country in the East and the West have sought to exploit his case to harm my home country and leadership,” Salah Khashoggi said in a tweet.
“My father didn’t accept in his life any affront or attempt to harm them. I won’t accept that his anniversary and case be exploited to achieve this after his departure,” he added.
He renewed his “absolute confidence” in the Saudi justice system to bring justice and punish the perpetrators.
In the run-up to Khashoggi’s first death anniversary, several anti-Saudi media outlets have stepped up their smear campaign against the kingdom.