'Saudi probe on Khashoggi illegitimate after UN report'

By Bayram Altug

GENEVA (AA) - Murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee said Tuesday the probe conducted by Saudi Arabia on the murder had "no legitimacy" after the publication of the UN report about the murder.

Speaking at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council, Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish citizen, underlined that the recently released UN report showed proof that the Saudi government destroyed evidence related to the murder during its investigation.

"If it is viewed from this angle, there is no legitimacy left for the investigation being carried out in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the necessity for an international investigation arises again," Cengiz stressed.

Cengiz said Riyadh was accused of murder and that it was made clear in the UN report.

Last week, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Agnes Callamard published a report on Khashoggi's murder in which she determined it constituted an "extrajudicial killing for which the State of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is responsible”.

In the report, Callamard said she found "credible evidence" to further probe Saudi officials’ individual liability in Khashoggi's killing, including the of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.

Among its other recommendations, the UN report calls for the FBI and UN secretary general to launch criminal investigations into the murder of Khashoggi, who was a U.S. resident.

Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by a group of Saudi operatives shortly after he entered the country's consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 last year.

Riyadh offered various, conflicting narratives to explain his disappearance before acknowledging he was murdered in the diplomatic building while seeking to shift blame for his death on a botched rendition operation being carried out by rogue agents.

Khashoggi's body has not been recovered, and the Kingdom has remained silent on its whereabouts.

* Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet.