Turkey’s foreign minister on Monday met with a UN official to discuss the case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
Mevlut Cavusoglu met with Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, who is leading an international inquiry into the killing of Khashoggi and is on a week-long visit to Turkey.
TRT World’s Reagan Des Vines has more.
Along with Cavusoglu and Callamard, the meeting in the official foreign ministry residence saw the attendance of several experts.
Callamard and the experts will also meet Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul. They are also expected to meet with Irfan Fidan, Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor.
The UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner said in a statement last week that Callamard will “assess the steps taken by governments to address and respond to the killing, and the nature and extent of states’ and individuals’ responsibilities for the killing.”
‘Review and evaluate’
“The inquiry will also seek to identify ways by which states can strengthen fulfillment of their international commitments to protect the right to life, prevent violations and ensure accountability,” the statement quoted Callamard as saying.
The probe will “review and evaluate, from a human rights perspective, the circumstances surrounding the killing of Khashoggi,” the statement read.
TRT World’s Hasan Abdullah reports from Ankara.
Findings to come out in June
Callamard is being accompanied by Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC, and Professor Duarte Nuno Vieira from the University of Coimbra, Portugal.
She will report her findings to the UN Human Rights Council during the June 2019 session.
After producing various contradictory explanations, Riyadh acknowledged Khasshogi was killed inside the consulate building, blaming the act on a botched rendition operation.
Turkey has sought the extradition of the Saudi citizens involved in the killing as well as a fuller accounting of the killing from Riyadh.
CIA urged to release recordings
Human Rights Watch on Monday called on the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (or CIA) to share its intercepted recordings of Khashoggi’s murder.
The NGO’s director Kenneth Roth said Khashoggi’s assassination is important enough on an international level that the CIA should reveal evidence regarding the killing.
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