The fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi urged the United States to hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accountable for ordering Khashoggi’s execution.
Hatice Cengiz’s plea for punishment came on Monday, days after the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report revealing their evaluation that the crown prince “approved an operation” that’s objectives were to “capture or kill” the journalist. The Biden administration, in an attempt to take a tougher stance against the kingdom while maintaining their alliance to counterbalance Iranian influence in the Middle East, have decided not to penalize the crown prince directly. The decision from the administration has been rebuked by politicians and commentators across the political spectrum.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RELEASES REPORT SAYING SAUDI CROWN PRINCE ORDERED KHASHOGGI OPERATION
Cengiz said that knowing the truth “is not enough since the truth can only be meaningful when it serves justice being achieved,” and added, “It is essential that the Crown Prince, who ordered the brutal murder of a blameless and innocent person, should be punished without delay.”
Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist, was lured into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where he was assassinated and dismembered by a 15-man team of assassins in October 2018. He visited the consulate to obtain the paperwork necessary to marry Cengiz.
It’s my statement. #justiceforjamal pic.twitter.com/T9q7qK8AGu
— Hatice Cengiz / خديجة (@mercan_resifi) March 1, 2021
If the crown prince isn’t punished, “it will forever signal that the main culprit can get away with murder which will endanger us all and be a stain on our humanity,” Cengiz said before asking if the Biden administration and world leaders across the globe will be able to “shake hands with a person whose culpability as a murderer has been proven, but not yet punished.”
“How can that be reconciled with the human rights values the USA and the West have espoused for so long?” she also asked.
The Saudi government denounced the U.S. intel release, saying it’s “false.”
“The Ministry notes that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions,” the government said.
Amid a flurry of criticism, White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the administration’s decision to leave the crown prince un-penalized on Sunday, saying, “We believe there is more effective ways to make sure this doesn’t happen again and to also be able to leave room to work with the Saudis on areas where there is mutual agreement, where there is interest, national interest for the United States.”
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The president is expected to make a subsequent announcement about U.S.-Saudi relations on Monday.
