UN: We are Concerned About Jamal Khashoggi

* Photograph: Onur Çoban - İstanbul / Anadolu Agency

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office has made a statement about the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, whose whereabouts has not been known since October 2, when he was last seen while entering the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in İstanbul.

In the statement, it has been indicated that the UN has been seriously concerned about the disappearance of Khashoggi.

In a press conference in Geneva in Switzerland yesterday (October 9), the UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said,

"This is of serious concern, the apparent enforced disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi from the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

"If reports of his death and the extraordinary circumstances leading up to it are true, this is truly shocking.

"We call for cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Khashoggi's disappearance and to make the findings public."

Shamdasani also added that the two countries have such an obligation under both criminal law and international human rights law.

Assignment in the Prosecutor's Office

The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has assigned a deputy chief prosecutor and a chief public prosecutor to conduct the judicial processes in the investigation that has been launched by Turkey after the journalist, who has allegedly been killed, was reported to be missing.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hami Aksoy also announced that the officials in the General Consulate of Saudi Arabia have accepted the request of Turkey to make an investigation at the consulate.

About Jamal Khashoggi

Journalist and writer Jamal Khashoggi is known for his opposing views about the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman and he has been writing at the Washington Post about this issue.

After he expressed his criticisms about the reforms introduced by bin Salman and drew reactions, he left Saudi Arabia in 2017 and moved to the US.

He worked as Director General and Editor-in-Chief at the Al Arab Media Group. He was also a media consultant at the Saudi Arabia Embassy in England. (AS/SD)