By Ramin Hossein Abadian
TEHRAN - A week has passed since Jamal Khashoggi, the high-profile critic of the Saudi leadership, was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. The Saudis continue to deny any knowledge of his whereabouts.
The speculation over the House of Saud’s role in the murder of Khashoggi runs high with numerous speculations and reports. Since the Saudi authorities are not capable of addressing the ambiguities surrounding the death of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudis’ state-own media have worked round the clock to distract the public’s attention.
Al Arabiya News Channel in an exclusive interview with Salah Khashoggi, Jamal Khashoggi’s eldest son, made attempts to show Khashoggi’s disappearance differently to the public.
Khashoggi’s son claimed: “There are attempts by foreign parties to politicize the disappearance of my father. This is totally unacceptable. The issue at hand is that there is a Saudi citizen who has gone missing. We are cooperating with the Saudi authorities to uncover the circumstances. The issue is a personal matter and is far from a political matter. My last contact with my father was during his stay in Washington. I had no idea about his recent trip to Turkey and his presence there.”
The interview questions were posed in a way to fulfill the House of Saud’s objective. Al Arabiya tried to impose its position on Khashoggi’s son’s words in order to make the allegations more credible. While the direct role of Saudi Arabia in the killing of Khashoggi is quite evident, childish remarks blaming Khashogg’s personality issues cannot go anywhere.
Meanwhile, other Saudi media, including the Al-Hadith network, have made efforts to cover Riyadh's crackdown on Khashoggi.
The Saudi network, without referring to Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi prince, and his desire to hold the throne and to take out opponents, tries to cover up any link between bin Salman and Khashoggi's murder. But media has failed to cover up the murder of Khashoggi in the embassy.
Even the Washington Post, a major American newspaper, says that two Turkish police officers have confirmed the murder of Khashoggi that it was preplanned, and a 15-member hit squad, allegedly Saudi policemen, came from Saudi Arabia to Turkey.
In an interview with Bloomberg News last week, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman claimed that Khashoggi had left the Saudi Consulate in Turkey shortly after his entry on Tuesday.
“Mojtahed” an active member on Twitter, twitted: “Turkish sources say Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was tortured then murdered, and his body was mutilated after the murder. Pictures of all these events are available. A video of the torture and murder of Khashoggi has been sent to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. If the news is confirmed, it means that bin Salman had never left Turkey to Saudi Arabia.” Mojtahed’s tweet has led to a new wave of protest against the Saudi family.
The United Nations has also gotten involved with the case for Khashoggi's death. The UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, has called for an investigation into the disappearance and alleged murder of the prominent Saudi journalist in Turkey.
“Disappearance and alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi requires an immediate and independent international investigation,” Kaye tweeted on Sunday.
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