The sons of Riyadh critic and The Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi have announced that they pardon those who killed their father.
In a statement posted on Twitter on Friday, 22 May, Salah Khashoggi was quoted by Al Jazeera as saying, "In this blessed night of the blessed month (of Ramadan) we remember God's saying: If a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah. Therefore, we the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi announce that we pardon those who killed our father, seeking reward God almighty."
Fifty-nine-year-old Khashoggi was killed after he entered the Saudi consulate on 2 October 2018, to obtain paperwork for his wedding to Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz.
The Saudi insider-turned-critic was strangled and his body cut into pieces by a 15-man Saudi squad inside the consulate, according to Turkish officials. His remains have never been found despite repeated calls by Turkish officials for the Saudis to cooperate.
Riyadh insists he was killed in a "rogue" operation. But the CIA, a UN special envoy and Ankara have directly linked the Saudi crown prince to the killing, a charge the kingdom vehemently denies.
Five people were given the death sentence and three sent to jail by Saudi Arabia in connection with the 2018 murder case. Three others were acquitted.
Meanwhile, Khashoggi's fiancee Hatice Cengiz on Friday tweeted saying, "Jamal Khashoggi has become an international symbol bigger than any of us, admired and loved. His ambush and heinous murder does not have a statute of limitations and no one has the right to pardon his killers. I and others will not stop until we get #JusticeForJamal."
"Jamal was killed inside his country's consulate while getting the docs to complete our marriage. The killers came from Saudi with premeditation to lure, ambush & kill him. Nobody has the right to pardon the killers. We will not pardon the killers nor those who ordered the killing," she added.
(With inputs from AFP and Al Jazeera.)
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