Turkish court ruled today that Saudi Arabia’s murder case should be referred to Saudi Arabia. Saudi journalist Jamal Kasogi in October 2018 inside the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul.
“We have decided to refer the case to Saudi Arabia,” said the judge of the Istanbul court, where the trial of 26 Saudi defendants has been held in absentia since July 2020.
The anguish did not last long: Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag gave a positive opinion on the prosecutor’s request, which asked for the “closure and referral of the case” to Riyadh.
The assassination of Kasogi, who was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, has poisoned relations between the two Sunni regional powers. However, in the midst of an economic crisis, Turkey has been seeking rapprochement with Saudi Arabia for months.
For one of her lawyers Kasogi’s fiancé, Gokmen Baspirar, “this decision to refer the case is against the law” and “constitutes a violation of Turkish sovereignty.”
Khashoggi’s fiancée:
“Turkey has been left alone. Neither UN nor EU have not done enough and not launched legal proceedings against the killers. Turkey on its own brought to this case to this point. But I can not hand this case to Saudi Arabia ”
– Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) April 7, 2022
“There is no prosecution in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi authorities have already closed the trial and decided to acquit many suspects,” he said, adding that he had “appealed to an administrative court in Ankara against the ministry’s decision”.
For Ali Seylan, also a lawyer for Kasogi’s fiancée, the decision is like “throwing the lamb in the wolf’s mouth”.
Kasogi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who was waiting for her fiancé on the day of the murder in front of the consulate, who had visited for some documents, declined to comment.
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