Khashoggi-style killing must 'never happen again': Saudi FM

JAKARTA - AFP

The killing of a critic like Jamal Khashoggi is something that must "never happen again", Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Oct. 23, as he pledged a "thorough and complete" investigation into the journalist’s death.    

Saudi Arabia’s leadership will "see to it that the investigation is thorough and complete and that the truth is revealed and those responsible will be held to account", he told reporters after meeting with his Indonesian counterpart in Jakarta.    

"And that mechanism and procedures are put in place to ensure that something like this can never happen again."    

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said she told al-Jubeir that Jakarta was "deeply concerned" about Khashoggi’s killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul this month, which Ankara has said was "savagely planned".    

The comments, following a bilateral meeting in the Indonesian capital, come as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected later Oct. 23 to reveal what he has said is the "naked truth" about the murder.    

A tough critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Khashoggi, 59, disappeared after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on oct. 2 to collect a document for his upcoming marriage.    

A few days later, a Turkish government source said police believed he was murdered by a team sent to Istanbul, and on Oct. 17, a Turkish newspaper said he was tortured and decapitated inside the consulate.    

After more than two weeks of near silence, Saudi Arabia admitted on Oct. 20 that Khashoggi was killed in an altercation at the consular office -- an explanation rejected by friends and foes alike.    

U.S. President Donald Trump, who initially said he found Riyadh’s initial explanations credible, told reporters at the White House Oct. 22: "I am not satisfied with what I have heard" since then, and expected to know more "very soon".