Jokowi Wants Saudi Transparent in Khashoggi Murder Investigation
22 October 2018 20:46 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo asked for Saudi Arabia's transparency in the alleged murder investigation of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Jokowi delivered his statement to the Saudi Arabian Foreign Affairs Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, who visited the Bogor Palace today, October 22.
"The president conveyed his concerns about the case, and said that Indonesia hopes that the investigation will be conducted transparently and thoroughly," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said.
There are suspicions that Jamal Khashoggi was sadistically mutilated by 15 Saudi Arabian nationals for the journalist's columns that heavily criticized Saudi's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Read: Saudi Calls Khashoggi Killing "Grave Mistake"
Khashoggi, who had been in exile in the United States over the last year, visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2. He was there to make arrangements for his marriage with a Turkish woman. Since then, the journalist has been missing.
The Saudi Arabian Foreign Affairs Department said that Khashoggi died during a fight with a number of people outside the consulate building.
The Saudi Arabian government has arrested 18 men suspected to have been involved in his murder. Additionally, five high-ranking officials have been fired from their posts, including the deputy of intelligence, Ahmed al-Asiri. The Arabian government has also sacked Saud Al-Qahtini, the advisor to Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
AHMAD FAIZ IBNU SANI
