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On March 31, the Turkish prosecutor in charge of the Khashoggi case requested to move the trial to Saudi Arabia, the very country that ordered the assassination. The prosecutor’s move was a surprising turnabout by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who counted Khashoggi as a friend. In the days and months after the killing, the Turkish government played a key role in implicating Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, in the killing by releasing recordings, surveillance footage and other material.
Handing the case over to Saudi Arabia, a repressive regime lacking even the pretenses of a free press or independent judiciary, would deal a serious blow to any remaining chance of justice for Khashoggi’s killers. It will also send a chilling signal about Turkey’s own respect for the freedom of the press.
To be sure, Turkey has less than a stellar record when it comes to the murder and repression of journalists. The case of the prominent writer and journalist Musa Anter, who was murdered in 1992 in Diyarbakir, has long languished unresolved. Similarly, the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007 in the heart of Istanbul was attributed to the Gulenist network, but the masterminds behind the attack have never been brought to justice.
The prosecution of Khashoggi’s murder reflects a real challenge for a Turkish court system whose independence is increasingly under threat from government interference. The move to relocate the trial appears to be part of a broader policy change from the very top to try to smooth over the relationship with the oil-rich Saudi regime. It is difficult to believe that a single prosecutor could have the “independent initiative” for such a request, which not only defies common sense but challenges the government’s legal standing and jurisdiction.
Full Opinion:
Documentary about Khashoggi:
Handing the case over to Saudi Arabia, a repressive regime lacking even the pretenses of a free press or independent judiciary, would deal a serious blow to any remaining chance of justice for Khashoggi’s killers. It will also send a chilling signal about Turkey’s own respect for the freedom of the press.
To be sure, Turkey has less than a stellar record when it comes to the murder and repression of journalists. The case of the prominent writer and journalist Musa Anter, who was murdered in 1992 in Diyarbakir, has long languished unresolved. Similarly, the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007 in the heart of Istanbul was attributed to the Gulenist network, but the masterminds behind the attack have never been brought to justice.
The prosecution of Khashoggi’s murder reflects a real challenge for a Turkish court system whose independence is increasingly under threat from government interference. The move to relocate the trial appears to be part of a broader policy change from the very top to try to smooth over the relationship with the oil-rich Saudi regime. It is difficult to believe that a single prosecutor could have the “independent initiative” for such a request, which not only defies common sense but challenges the government’s legal standing and jurisdiction.
Full Opinion:
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www.washingtonpost.com
Documentary about Khashoggi:
