BFF-24 Khashoggi death: don’t give S. Arabia ‘licence to kill’, says RSF

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Khashoggi death: don’t give S. Arabia ‘licence to kill’, says RSF

PARIS, Oct 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The international community must keep up
the pressure on Saudi Arabia after its admission that journalist Jamal
Khashoggi died in its Turkish consulate, Reporters without Borders (RSF) said
Saturday.

Riyadh had to be held to account for the death of Khashoggi and the
imprisonment of other journalists, Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of
the Paris-based media rights watchdog tweeted.

“Any attempt to get rid of the pressure on Saudi Arabia and to accept a
compromise policy would result in giving a ‘license to kill’ to a Kingdom
that puts in jail, lashes, kidnaps and even kills journalists who dare to
investigate and launch debates,” he wrote.

“After the recognition of Khashoggi’s death, we expect a determined,
constant and powerful pressure to be kept on Saudi Arabia in order to get the
whole truth on the case and the release of Saudi Arabian journalists (who
have) been condemned to crazy and horrible sentences,” he added.

After earlier denials, Saudi Arabia admitted earlier Saturday that
Khashoggi, an insider turned critic of the regime, had been killed inside its
Istanbul consulate in what it described as a “brawl”.

His disappearance has been shrouded in mystery and tipped Saudi Arabia into
one of its worst international crises.

Turkish reports have accused Riyadh of carrying out a state-sponsored
killing and dismembering the body.

Khashoggi, a contributor to the Washington Post newspaper, had been living
in the United States since 2017.

On Friday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a “prompt,
thorough and transparent investigation” into Khashoggi’s death.

BSS/AFP/GMR/1405 hrs