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Jamal Khashoggi's son says family forgives father's killers

Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in October 2018. File Photo by Ali Haider/EPA-EFE
Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in October 2018. File Photo by Ali Haider/EPA-EFE

May 22 (UPI) -- The son of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said Friday his family has forgiven those who killed his father more than a year ago.

Salah Khashoggi said on social media his family "pardons" those who killed Khashoggi on Oct. 2, 2018 during a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, where he'd gone to pick up documents for his forthcoming marriage to Hatice Cengiz.

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"In this blessed night of the blessed month [of Ramadan] we remember God's saying: If a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah," he wrote. "Therefore, we the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi announce that we pardon those who killed our father, seeking reward God almighty."

The dissident writer's fiancee, however, was not forgiving. She rejected the "pardon" for those connected to Khashoggi's death.

"Jamal Khashoggi has become an international symbol bigger than any of us, admired and loved," Cengiz tweeted. "His ambush and heinous murder does not have a statute of limitations and no one has the right to pardon his killers. I and others will not stop until we get [justice for Jamal]."

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"Jamal was killed inside his country's consulate while getting the docs to complete our marriage. The killers came from Saudi with premeditation to lure, ambush and kill him. Nobody has the right to pardon the killers. We will not pardon the killers nor those who ordered the killing," she added.

Last December, a Saudi court sentenced five people to death for killing Khashoggi, whose body has never been recovered. The five were among 11 indicted for the slaying.

The CIA has suggested that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi's death because he'd been critical of the royal family in columns that appeared in The Washington Post.

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