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A group of journalists called on the Saudi government Thursday to reveal the truth behind the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Gathering for a vigil in front of the Saudi embassy in central London, members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) lit candles to remember their slain colleague.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said they demand justice for Khashoggi and an answer to what genuinely happened to him.
“What is clear is that he was brutally murdered for doing his job as a journalist,” Stanistreet said.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is canceling most of its $5 million pledge to the MiSk Foundation, a Saudi charity headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.The "current situation" played a part in the Gates Foundation's decision, a spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal, referring to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi."Jamal Khashoggi's abduction and murder is extremely troubling. We are observing current events with concern," the foundation said in a statement.Khashoggi, a Saudi national and columnist for The Washington Post, was killed on Oct. 2 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.After weeks of denying involvement, the Kingdom admitted he had been killed at the consulate and that it was premeditated.German media criticizes Saudi Arabia on Khashoggi caseUK's stance in Khashoggi case unchangedTurkey expects Saudi cooperation on Khashoggi killing: justice minister
Gates Foundation stops backing Saudi charity
She underlined that tonight is the eve of the UN’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and said it is a campaign the NUJ is passionate about.
“Journalists around the world are being murdered every week for doing their job, and it is time that the world woke up to these dangers and held to account -- whether it is governments or individuals or criminal forces -- the people responsible for targeting and assassination of journalists.”
Stanistreet said all governments should take seriously what happened to Khashoggi.
While devoting extensive coverage to Turkey’s probe of the killing of a Saudi journalist, German media has scolded Saudi officials for offering half-hearted cooperation.Die Welt daily reported that Turkish prosecutors have concluded Jamal Khashoggi was strangled to death -- in a premeditated killing -- soon after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.The daily decried how despite Riyadh's pledge to cooperate in the investigation, Saudi Attorney General Saud al-Mujeb’s visit to Istanbul this week failed to yield fruit.On Wednesday, Istanbul prosecutors reiterated Turkey's demand that Saudi authorities extradite 18 suspects in the Khashoggi killing.German public broadcaster ARD reported that many questions about the killing remain unanswered, including what happened to his body.“A real clarification can only be achieved by Saudi investigators. But this is only possible with the consent of the Saudi royal family,” the report said.Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily pointed to claims that the killing is tied to the inner circle of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.“There are suspicions that Saudi strong Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of the Washington Post columnist [Khashoggi],” it reported.“Many of the alleged perpetrators had direct links to the 33-year-old heir to the throne, according to media reports. Although he denies any involvement, the incident has seriously damaged his international image.”Die Zeit weekly raised the possibility of European sanctions on Saudi Arabia if Riyadh fails to clear up the case.“Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have recently said that they are planning a common European response. What this response would be remains unclear at the moment,” it said. Khashoggi, a Saudi national and columnist for The Washington Post, was killed on Oct. 2 inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. After weeks of denying involvement, the kingdom admitted he had been killed at the consulate and the killing was premeditated.UK's stance in Khashoggi case unchangedTurkey expects Saudi cooperation on Khashoggi killing: justice ministerKhashoggi murder and House of Saud's futureKhashoggi murder outcry threatens US-Saudi ties, Saudi prince says
German media criticizes Saudi Arabia on Khashoggi case
“We do not want any state, whether it is the UK government or elsewhere, to be hoodwinked by the Saudi government into believing their pack of lies that they have come up with to date about what had actually happened.
“We do not want a business-as-usual approach where this is overlooked,” she said, adding that everyone who is responsible for the killing, to the highest level, should be held to account.
Saudi Arabia has neither explained its shifting narrative on Khashoggi's disappearance nor has it produced his body after several reports said he was dismembered in its Istanbul consulate.
Israeli police disperse a group of Ultra-Orthodox Jews during a demonstration against Israeli army conscription in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv on November 01, 2018.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest against army conscription in Israel
British government keeps its position for the violent killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Foreign Office said on Thursday.Upon a request by Anadolu Agency, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said in a statement that the most recent statement by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in the House of Commons is still up-to-date.On Tuesday, Hunt told British lawmakers that if the reports on Khashoggi killing are proven correct, this would not be compatible with their values, a statement he repeated on Wednesday at the parliament’s foreign affairs committee.“There are all sorts of issues with respect to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record that are in sharp relief at the moment," he said.“But … I have spoken more clearly than any Western foreign minister that if the Khashoggi stories turn out to be true, that would be inconsistent with our values.”On Wednesday, Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's body has been disposed of after being dismembered.Turkey expects Saudi cooperation on Khashoggi killing: justice ministerKhashoggi murder and House of Saud's futureThe Washington Post reported earlier, based on U.S. intelligence intercepts, that Crown Prince Salman had ordered an operation to lure the journalist back to Saudi Arabia.After weeks of denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, Saudi officials admitted that Khashoggi had been killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.Hunt also said he was not aware of any plot against Khashoggi, responding to claims by a British tabloid that British intelligence were aware of a plot against the journalist.“We are as shocked as anyone else is about what happened,” he added.“The actions Britain and our allies take will depend on two things: Firstly, the credibility of the final explanation given by Saudi Arabia, and secondly on our confidence that such an appalling episode cannot - and will not - be repeated,” Hunt said last week.Hunt said he was "deeply concerned" at Turkey's description of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's “murder as premeditated".Khashoggi murder outcry threatens US-Saudi ties, Saudi prince says‘Turkey will not allow cover up,’ says ruling party
UK's stance in Khashoggi case unchanged
On Wednesday, the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office said Khashoggi was strangled to death "in a premeditated way" shortly after he entered the consulate to obtain documents for his pending marriage to his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, adding that his body was disposed of after being dismembered.
Also present at the vigil was Jim Corn, a human rights activist.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Corn said he supported the NUJ during the vigil as a person who is campaigning against war.
Turkey's justice minister on Thursday urged Saudi authorities to support the investigation into slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Khashoggi went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.After initially saying Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, the Saudi administration admitted weeks later he had died there."We are looking for answers to the question of where the body is," Abdulhamit Gül told reporters during a joint news conference with his Hungarian counterpart Laszlo Trocsany in Ankara."We expect the Saudi authorities to engage a close cooperation on this issue. They need to support in the form of cooperation in order to enlighten the whole incident," he added.Khashoggi murder and House of Saud's futureGül said despite written questions asked by Turkey's Chief Public Prosecutor's office, no answers have yet been received by the Saudi officials."We expect these questions to be answered as soon as possible. The Turkish judiciary will also deepen the investigation to answer these questions," he added.Stating that the international issue cannot be covered up, the justice minister said the responsibility on the Khashoggi killing can not be avoided.Khashoggi murder outcry threatens US-Saudi ties, Saudi prince saysOn questions whether the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor will visit Saudi Arabia as part of the Khashoggi probe, Gül said that it is "likely not happening because the incident occurred in Turkey.""Without Turkey's questions are answered, I think it is not right to enter into a new stage," he added.Istanbul chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan said after talks with Mojeb on Monday and Tuesday that Khashoggi was suffocated in a premeditated killing as soon as he entered the consulate, and his body was then dismembered and disposed of. Investigation of the incident suggests a special hit squad came to the consulate to kill Kashoggi and cover up the murder. The international community refused to accept the Saudi claim that the incident was not a premeditated murder.‘Turkey will not allow cover up,’ says ruling partyMeanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed that all details of the case should be revealed, including who gave the instruction for the "premeditated murder".U.S. President Donald Trump said he could impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia, but also signaled that he did not want to harm bilateral relations.Telephoning Erdoğan, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman promised necessary cooperation.The chief prosecutor's office in Riyadh also announced that the murder was planned.Fake news network vs bots: the online war around Khashoggi killing
Turkey expects Saudi cooperation on Khashoggi killing: justice minister
"I am also concerned about the state terrorism that Saudi Arabia indulged in in Yemen and Bahrain," he said.
Corn said he was also “very concerned about the support they [Saudis] are giving to the terrorist state of Israel, who are murdering Palestinians on a daily basis, and I believe that the Saudis are in full support of that”.
He said he was glad that international attention has now focused on this problem because the murder of Khashoggi in Turkey is only “the tip of the iceberg”.
Corn underlined that Khashoggi’s murder had turned the focus on the “undemocratic state of Saudi Arabia”.
A group of journalists called on the Saudi government to reveal the truth behind the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Gathering for a vigil in front of the Saudi embassy in central London, members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) lit candles to remember their slain colleague.
UK journalists call for truth behind Khashoggi murder
The vigil also saw the attendance of members of the Trade Union Congress, an umbrella organization bringing together more than 5.5 million working people.
Khashoggi, a Saudi national and columnist for The Washington Post, was killed on Oct. 2 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
After weeks of denying involvement, the Kingdom admitted he had been killed at the consulate and that it was premeditated.