The bride of Saudi journalist Jemal Hashkuji, who was killed in October 2018 at the consulate general of his country in Istanbul, has filed a lawsuit against the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, accusing him of involvement in this crime. Bloomberg reports this with reference to a lawyer.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the journalist's fiancée Khatije Cengiz in cooperation with the non-profit organization Democracy for the Arab World Now, based in Washington, D.C. In addition to the Saudi prince, 28 more citizens of the kingdom appear in the seven-point complaint.
On September 7, a court in Saudi Arabia sentenced eight people to prison for the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jemal Hashkuji. The judges changed their minds to execute the murderers – it was previously reported that five of them will be subjected to capital punishment. Five people were sentenced to 20 years in prison, one convict will spend ten years in prison, two more – seven years. This is the final decision of the court, which had previously issued several death sentences to the convicted. The journalist's bride called this court decision a farce.
Hashkuji disappeared on October 2, 2018 after a visit to the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul. He went there to obtain documents that would help him file a divorce and remarry a Turkish woman. Turkish media, citing sources in law enforcement and investigative bodies, reported that the authorities have confirmation that Hashkuji was brutally tortured in the consulate building and then killed.
The Turkish government publication Yeni Safak, citing audio recordings confirming the massacre at the consulate, reported that the journalist's fingers and head were cut off during the torture process. Other media also referred to the same audio recordings, but the Turkish authorities did not present them to the general public.
