State of Khashoggi case a year later shameful: Fiancee

By Yusuf Ozcan

PARIS (AA) - The state of affairs one year since the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul is shameful, according to the late writer’s fiancee.

"The latest situation is a great shame for humanity, and particularly for journalists," Hatice Cengiz told Anadolu Agency.

Cengiz said even though just over a year has passed since Khashoggi's murder, no progress has been made towards punishing the criminals.

In October 2018, after entering the consulate to get a marriage certificate, Khashoggi was killed and his body dismembered by a group of Saudi operatives, according to reports by the UN and other independent organizations.

After weeks of denying involvement, Saudi Arabia admitted that Khashoggi, a Saudi national and columnist for The Washington Post, had been killed at the consulate, but claimed that the royal family had no prior knowledge of a plot.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently accepted responsibility for the killing, but denied ordering it.

Cengiz said Saudi Arabia has yet to be punished for the murder.

She added that Europe has kept silent about the murder, saying: "European countries did not take any political stance on sanctions or practical steps besides verbal condemnations made in the first days after the incident."

Cengiz said an international investigation should be carried out and more serious steps should be taken in response to the killing.