Turkey: Riyadh's refusal to extradite Khashoggi murder suspects ‘disappointing’

By Ilkay Guder

ANKARA (AA) - Saudi Arabia’s refusal to extradite the suspected killers of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is “very disappointing,” said Turkey's presidential communications director on Monday.

In a statement to Reuters, Fahrettin Altun reiterated the calls for an international investigation into the case of the slain journalist, saying, “The world should seek justice for his case under international law”.

“It will be in the best interest of the international community to seek justice for the late Saudi journalist under international law,” Altun said as quoted in the news report.

Refusing the extradition of the murder suspects would only justify those "who believe Saudi Arabia has been trying to cover up the murder," he added.

It is understood that Saudi Arabia’s consul-general in Istanbul also an accomplice to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, Altun said.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia ruled out extraditing suspects in the Jamal Khashoggi case to Turkey late Sunday, the country's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said.

“We don’t extradite our citizens," said al-Jubeir in the 39th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) news conference when he was asked about the arrest warrants.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist, and columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in early October.

After initially saying he had left the consulate alive, Saudi Arabia admitted weeks later that he was killed there, blaming his death on a group of rogue Saudi operatives.

Following a royal decree, Saudi Arabia dismissed five senior officials, including al-Qahtani and al-Asiri.