Khashoggi Fiancée Snubs Trump Invitation to WH

Local Editor

The fiancée of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi revealed that she has declined an invitation to the White House from US President Donald Trump, accusing him of not being sincere about investigating the killing.

Hatice Cengiz told Turkish TV she thought the invitation was aimed at influencing public opinion in the US.
Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul three weeks ago.

Saudi Arabia initially denied all knowledge of the journalist's fate but the public prosecutor there now describes it as premeditated murder.

Trump has said he is "not satisfied" with the Saudi account, but while he has floated the possibility of imposing sanctions he has also stressed the importance of the two countries' ties.

The president also said it was "possible" Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not know about the killing.

In a tearful television interview on Friday, Ms Cengiz recounted the day her fiancé vanished, saying she would never have let her partner enter the consulate if she had thought that the "Saudi Arabia authorities would hatch a plot" to kill him.

"I demand that all those involved in this savagery from the highest to the lowest levels are punished and brought to justice," she told Haberturk TV.

She said she had not been contacted by any Saudi officials but that she was unlikely to go to Saudi Arabia for a funeral should Khashoggi's missing body eventually be found.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Riyadh to admit who ordered the killing and where the body is.

The US-based writer's eldest son arrived in the US from Saudi Arabia on Thursday, along with his family. The Saudi-US citizen had been barred from leaving Saudi Arabia because of his father's criticism of the country's leadership, but this sanction was recently lifted.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team