The Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontiers, or RSF) calls for continued strong international pressure on Riyadh to establish the truth about the death of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi, RSF Secretary General Christophe Deloire said on Saturday.
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th October, 2018) The Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontiers, or RSF) calls for continued strong international pressure on Riyadh to establish the truth about the death of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi, RSF Secretary General Christophe Deloire said on Saturday.
On Friday, Saudi Prosecutor General Saud bin Abdullah Muajab stated that Khashoggi had died as a result of a brawl with some people at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Muajab said that 18 people had been detained as part of the case, adding that the perpetrators of the killing would be held accountable.
"After the recognition of #Khashoggi's death, we expect a determined, constant and powerful pressure to be kept on #Saudi_Arabia in order to get the whole truth on the case and the release of Saudi Arabian journalists that have been condemned to crazy and horrible sentences," Deloire wrote on Twitter.
Any easing of pressure would encourage Riyadh to continue oppression of free speech, he noted.
"Any attempt to get rid of the pressure on #Saudi_Arabia and to accept a compromise policy would result in giving a " license to kill " to a Kingdom that puts in jail, lashes, kidnappes and even kills journalists who dare to investigate and launch debates," Deloire added.
Khashoggi, known for his criticism of Saudi policies, has recently been working as a columnist for The Washington Post. The journalist was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Riyadh is investigating the Khashoggi case together with Ankara. Turkish officials said that the Saudi authorities were behind the killing of Khashoggi, something denied by Riyadh.
