Jamal Khashoggi fiancée demands punishment for 'savage' killers as Turkey submits extradition files for 18 suspects

Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, during an interview with Turkish broadcaster Haberturk on Friday
Reuters
James Morris26 October 2018

The fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi has demanded the journalist’s murderers be punished for their “savagery” – as Turkish prosecutors submitted extradition files for 18 suspects.

Hatice Cengiz said in a tearful interview on Turkish TV: "I demand that all those involved in this savagery, from the highest to the lowest levels, are punished and brought to justice.”

Ms Cengiz said Mr Khashoggi had not wanted to go to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was murdered on October 2.

Mr Khashoggi had visited the consulate to obtain a document that would allow him to remarry, but Ms Cengiz still thought he was going to be safe: “His local network in Turkey was very good as you know, his political network as well.

A demonstrator holds a poster of Jamal Khashoggi outside the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul on Thursday
AFP/Getty Images

"He thought Turkey is a safe country and if he would be held or interrogated, this issue would be swiftly solved.”

It came as Turkey's state-run news agency reported prosecutors had submitted an extradition request for the suspects to Turkey's justice ministry.

Saudi Arabia has said it arrested 18 people in connection with Mr Khashoggi's killing. Turkey alleges a 15-member "hit squad" was sent to Istanbul to kill the Washington Post columnist, a critic of the Saudi royal family who lived in exile in the United States.

Ms Cengiz also revealed she did not accept an invitation from US president Donald Trump to visit the White House because she thought it was aimed at influencing public opinion in his own favour.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in