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Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Turkey’s indictment of Khashoggi's killers is essential for justice to be served
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the 25th anniversary of the Oslo Accords, MEMO hosted a conference in London, UK on 29 September 2018 [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]
Last week, Turkey’s Attorney General issued indictments against 20 Saudi Arabian citizens accused of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at
the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. The indictments call
for a life sentence in a maximum security prison for the former deputy
head of Saudi Arabia’s general intelligence agency, Ahmed Al-Asiri, and
former royal court adviser Saud Al-Qahtani. The rest of the execution
squad included Royal Guard officer Maher Mutrab.
The indictment is significant in content and form, both politically and
legally. Despite the fact that the Turkish government did not interfere
in the course of the investigation, in line with the separation of
powers in democracies, it did not give in to temptation and agree to
settle the issue diplomatically. Nor did it accept the Saudi
government’s show trial or seek to hinder or stop the investigation.
Instead, it provided all necessary support to the prosecutors to carry out their professional duties.
Politically, the indictment translates into what President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan believes is a duty to the Khashoggi family to track down the
perpetrators and hold them accountable. Erdogan also said that justice
is only achieved through national and international courts. It is clear
that the first step is now on course, awaiting the second, which is to
hold an international trial and for Riyadh to cooperate with the
investigation by allowing the extradition of the suspects so that they
can be questioned freely and transparently in a formally-constituted
court of law.
The text of the indictments includes affirmation that a lot of
professional, accurate and patient work has already gone into this
process. Over the past year and a half, the testimonies of 55 witnesses
have been heard, including Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi’s fiancée. Evidence
has been taken from the crime scene in the Saudi Consulate building, as
well as the home of the Consul, Mohammed Al-Otaibi, and other related
sites. The integrity of the investigations cannot be called into
question. Moreover, we are assured that the trial will meet
international standards, in the presence of human rights observers.
The most important aspect of the indictments is the charge against
Al-Asiri and Al-Qahtani that they are guilty of “instigating a
premeditated murder with the intent of [causing] torment through
fiendish instinct”, based on recorded phone calls between them and the
execution squad. The missing link is the question of who issued the
orders; it would have been impossible for a group of government
officials to fly on a private jet from Riyadh to Istanbul chartered by
the Saudi government, without the knowledge and involvement of very
high-ranking officials.
The evidence appears to be insufficient to accuse Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammad Bin Salman, but no doubt Al-Asiri and Al-Qahtani, if it gets to
that stage, will be questioned about who gave the orders and
instructions to go ahead with the murder. This has not prevented
international condemnation of Bin Salman, not only due to the
involvement of officials and employees in the Royal Court who report to
him directly, but also his complete authority over everything in Saudi
Arabia. The very nature of tyranny prevents any employee from acting
without orders from above.
The indictment move is an important step, as it means that a trial is
inevitable and subject to routine protective measures with arrest
warrants issued through Interpol. This is a demonstration of Turkey’s
wish to carry out its moral and legal obligations regarding a crime
committed within its jurisdiction and against the Vienna Convention
governing diplomats and diplomatic buildings.
The comments made by UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or
arbitrary executions, Agnès Callamard, who conducted an informal
investigation for the UN Human Rights Council, are significant, because
she concluded that there is a need for an official investigation and an
international trial of the accused either in Turkey or abroad. She also
criticised the way in which Saudi Arabia dealt with the issue and
praised the Turkish government.
Having read the indictments, Callamard summed up eloquently, emphasising
the political backdrop of the crime based on who gave the order; the
need not to be content with prosecuting those who assassinated a
journalist for his opinions, without any personal relationship or
problems with him; and that an international trial is an appropriate
response to the sham Saudi trial, which aimed to close the case to
protect Bin Salman, not serve justice. She also pointed out the
consistency of the indictments with Turkey’s obligations under
international law.
Above all else, the indictments represent an important step in keeping
the case alive, and preventing it from being closed by default. Although
the accused will be tried in absentia, the sword will always hang over
their necks if found guilty, pending justice being served.
It should be noted that Turkey does not consider the issue to be a
bilateral problem with Saudi Arabia. Its approach is simply to say that a
gruesome crime was committed on Turkish soil, the details of which are
now almost clear, and that the Turkish government’s first choice was to
cooperate with its Saudi counterparts to prosecute and punish the
perpetrators. However, this did not happen.
Hence, it has carried out its duties as a democratically-elected
government responsible for the safety and security of its citizens and
visitors. As an international crime an international trial is essential
for justice to be seen to be done for the victim and his family. It will
also deter anyone considering such a crime against opposition figures,
either in Turkey or anywhere else.
This article was translated from Al-Araby Al-Jadid, 30 March 2020