JAKARTA – The killing of a critic like Jamal Khashoggi is something thatmust “never happen again”, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeirsaid Tuesday, as he pledged a full investigation into the journalist’sdeath.
Saudi Arabia’s leadership will “see to it that the investigation isthorough and complete and that the truth is revealed and those responsiblewill be held to account”, al-Jubeir told reporters after meeting with hisIndonesian counterpart in Jakarta.
“And that mechanism and procedures are put in place to ensure thatsomething like this can never happen again.”
His comments, following a bilateral meeting in the Indonesian capital, comeafter al-Jubeir appeared on Fox News Sunday to blame a “rogue operation” byindividuals who “exceeded their responsibilities” and then “tried to coverup for it”.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Tuesday that Jakarta was“deeply concerned” about Khashoggi’s killing at the Saudi consulate inIstanbul this month, which Ankara has said was “savagely planned”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected later Tuesday to revealwhat he has said is the “naked truth” about the murder.
Omer Celik, spokesman of Erdogan’s ruling party, said the killing “wasplanned in an extremely savage manner,” and that “there has been a lot ofeffort to whitewash this”.
A tough critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Khashoggi, 59,disappeared after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2to collect a document for his upcoming marriage.
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A few days later, a Turkish government source said police believed he wasmurdered by a team sent to Istanbul, and on October 17, a Turkish newspapersaid he was tortured and decapitated inside the consulate.
After more than two weeks of near silence, Saudi Arabia admitted onSaturday that Khashoggi was killed in an altercation at the consular office— an explanation rejected by friends and foes alike.
US President Donald Trump, who said he found Riyadh’s initial explanationscredible, told reporters at the White House Monday: “I am not satisfiedwith what I have heard”, and that he expected to know more “very soon”.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin meanwhile met the Crown Prince behindclosed doors in Riyadh for talks while CIA Director Gina Haspel headed forTurkey, although details of her trip were not immediately clear.
White House advisor and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner said he had urgedPrince Mohammed to be “fully transparent” stressing that “the world iswatching”.
The case has shone the spotlight on the Crown Prince, who was credited withspearheading a reform drive but is now accused of having orderedKhashoggi’s murder — a claim Riyadh denies. – APP/AFP
