Khashoggi’s son says family forgives killers

May 22, 2020

The family of slain Saudi Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi has forgiven his killers, Khashoggi’s son Salah said today. This now allows those convicted in the killing to escape the death penalty, but criticisms continue of Saudi Arabia’s handling of the ordeal.

“We, the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi, announce that we forgive those who killed our father,” the young Khashoggi said in a statement posted to Twitter.

Khashoggi, a notable dissident and author, was murdered in 2018 after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to do some paperwork related to his engagement to a Turkish woman. He was a vocal critic of the Saudi government and its de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

A United Nations report last year determined that the Saudi state carried out a deliberate “execution” of Khashoggi. The incident created a massive international backlash against Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed.

The family’s forgiveness now means that those convicted of Khashoggi’s murder can be reprieved from their death sentence, Reuters reported. Saudi law allows punishment by death to be excused if the victim’s family forgives the perpetrators.