Two years after officials in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia claimed that journalist Jamal Khashoggi died after a fight in its consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, his fiancee is filing a lawsuit to hold the country’s leaders accountable for his death.
Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi’s fiancee, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other leaders of Saudi Arabia in a bid to hold officials in that country, believed to be behind the death, accountable.
In a press conference, Cengiz said, “I want the truth,” according to The Hill.
“We know who is responsible, but we want the whole truth, and we want accountability,” she continued.
“I asked the United States government — a nation that has stood for justice, accountability and human rights — I ask that you stand with me and all those who love Jamal and say, we will support your efforts to fully uncover the truth and ensure that those responsible are found liable in a court of law.”
The fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi, Hatice Cengiz, is suing crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi officials to hold them accountable for the slain journalist's death. pic.twitter.com/Gj5GB0laEz
— Megan Mineiro (@meganmineiro) October 20, 2020
The suit asks for monetary damages. However, Faisal Gill, who represents Cengiz, said he hopes to use the discovery period of the suit to acquire documents and recordings he believes the Saudi, Turkish, and U.S. governments possess regarding Khashoggi’s death.
Additionally, Gill said he wants to have a court hold Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the death.
Khashoggi, a journalist and vocal critic of Saudi Arabia’s government, was killed in October 2018 when he went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, to get documents stating that he was divorced so he could marry Cengiz.
Initially, the Saudi government denied it knew what happened to the writer. However, on Oct. 20, 2018, the Saudi government said he had died following a “fight” that ensued as officials tried to bring him back to the kingdom.
An investigation by Saudi officials found that Khashoggi was restrained, drugged, and died of an overdose and later dismembered. However, they maintained that the crown prince did not have “any knowledge about it.”
Meanwhile, Turkish officials said a Saudi “death squad” was waiting at the consulate for Khashoggi.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the assassination order “came from the highest levels of the Saudi government.” However, he did not “believe for a second that King Salman, the custodian of the holy mosques, ordered the hit.”
The CIA also investigated the matter in 2018 and concluded that the crown prince had ordered the assassination. A source familiar with the investigation told The Washington Post, “The accepted position is that there is no way this happened without him being aware or involved.”
“The ruthless torture and murder of Mr. Khashoggi shocked the conscience of people throughout the world,” Cengiz’s lawsuit read.
It continued, “The objective of the murder was clear – to halt Mr. Khashoggi’s advocacy in the United States, principally as the executive director of plaintiff DAWN, for democratic reform in the Arab world.”
The lawsuit claims Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination after discovering Khashoggi founded DAWN to promote democracy and human rights.
It also alleges the plot to kill Khashoggi was hatched after he was unable to get a marriage license at the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C., and that bin Salman directed the Saudi ambassador to convince Khashoggi it would be safe to go to the consulate in Istanbul.
