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Turkey ready to take Khashoggi case to international court

Turkey’s minister of justice says Ankara is ready to take the case regarding the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi to an international court if necessary
Pictures of Jamal Khashoggi  EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN
Pictures of Jamal Khashoggi
© EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

TASS, December 10. Ankara is ready to take the case regarding the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi to an international court if necessary, Turkey’s Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul said on Monday.

"We’ve conducted technical and legal measures. Hence, should the relevant decision be made, the case will be passed to an international court. This is a brutal murder that needs to be solved, with no efforts to hush up the case," Gul was quoted as saying by the Haberturk TV channel. The minister added that Riyadh "should act constructively, but Ankara does not see such behavior on its part."

Gul also criticized the position that the Saudi government had taken on cooperation with Turkey regarding the investigation into and the extradition of Saudi suspects to Ankara. "We repeatedly and persistently send requests for extradition to the Saudis. If you want to find out everything about the case, you need to cooperate. However, the Turkish requests remain unanswered," the minister stated, pointing out that Ankara "will try to achieve [the extradition of Saudi suspects] with the support of the international community."

On December 5, a Turkish court issued a warrant to arrest former Deputy Foreign Intelligence, Chief General, Ahmed Asiri and Royal Court Advisor Saud Al-Qahtani, a former top aide for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who are suspected of being involved in Khashoggi’s killing. Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reported that an Istanbul court issued a warrant for the arrest of 15 Saudis accused of the assassination of Khashoggi with Ankara having sent a request for their extradition to Riyadh. Meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Sunday that his country "would not extradite its citizens to Turkey", but "would neither hide anything".

Khashoggi, known for his criticism of Saudi Arabia's policies, left his home country and moved to the United States in 2017. He worked for The Washington Post, analyzing the situation in Saudi Arabia and the country’s foreign policy. On October 20, Saudi authorities announced that the journalist died in a fight in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the murder had been carefully planned. The international community condemned Khashoggi’s murder and called for a transparent investigation.