* Photo: Foreign Ministry of the Netherlands / flickr.com
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Amnesty International has released a statement about the trial in Turkey over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The statement came after a speech by Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ, who said that the government would recommend that trial in abstentia against 26 Saudi nationals charged in the murder be suspended and the case be transferred to Saudi Arabia.
In a statement on April 1, a day after the last hearing, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International's Secretary General, said:
"Today is a dark day for those who have spent more three years campaigning for justice for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
"By transferring the case of a murder that was committed on its territory, Turkey will be knowingly and willingly sending the case back into hands of those who bare its responsibility. Indeed, the Saudi system has repeatedly failed to cooperate with the Turkish prosecutor and it is clear that justice cannot be delivered by a Saudi court.
"What has happened to Turkey's declared commitment that justice must prevail for this gruesome murder and that this case would never become a pawn in political calculations and interest?
Should the government indeed recommend the suspension of the prosecution, this would guarantee impunity – the opposite of justice for Jamal.
"Even though Amnesty International is concerned about trials in absentia, the Justice Minister has paved the path to impunity and injustice but It is still not too late to reverse this ill-thought through decision."
Tarık Beyhan, Amnesty International Turkey's Campaign Director, in a statement a day before, also said:
"If the prosecutor's request is granted, then instead of prosecuting and shedding light on a murder that was committed on its territory, Turkey will be knowingly and willingly sending the case to a place where it will be covered up. [...] Human rights should not be made the subject of political negotiations. A murder cannot be covered up to fix relations."
What happened?
In the trial of 26 people in absentia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia, of which Khashoggi was a citizen, requested that the file of the case held by the İstanbul 11th High Criminal Court be handed over to them and the red notice on the defendants be lifted.
At the hearing held on March 31, the prosecutor of the hearing reiterated the same request in his opinion as to the accusations and the court board ruled that the Justice Ministry should be asked for its opinion. Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ announced that the request would be accepted.
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