Khashoggi's fiancée applies to Constitutional Court against transfer of case to Saudi Arabia

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Jamal Khashoggi's fiancée has filed an application with the Constitutional Court, demanding the cancellation of the transfer of the journalist's case to Saudi Arabia.

Hatice Cengiz also demanded the retrial of the case concerning the 2018 killing of the journalist in Saudi Arabia's consulate in İstanbul.

Gökmen Başpınar, the attorney of Cengiz, alleged that right to life, right to a fair trial, right to legal remedies, right to an effective application and right to justice, as well as the principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination were violated.

"Political reasons"

The legal process was carried out against the principle of equality for political purposes, said Cengiz, adding that their appeals had been rejected without a reason.

"Jamal Khashoggi was murdered because of his differences of opinion with the Saudi administration, the file was transferred while the murderers were on trial because of state policies and political reasons, and our appeals against the administration's actions were rapidly rejected, and the case was closed."

The determining factor in the legal process was "long-deteriorated relations with Saudi Arabia," she said in the petition.

Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate General in İstanbul on October 2, 2018. The kingdom admitted on October 20 that he had been killed in the consulate, where he went to sort out paperwork to marry his fiancee.

A US intelligence report stated that the killing was approved by the Saudi crown prince and the two private planes that carried the assassination team belonged to a company that Muhammad bin Salman had seized.

After no progress in the case for years, Turkey's Ministry of Justice on April 7 allowed the transfer of the case to Saudi Arabia as per a request by the kingdom.

In June, the case against 26 defendants were dropped.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman exchanged visits in April and June, respectively, in what they called a "new era" in bilateral relations. (HA/VK)