Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee says authorities have "failed to do enough" to hold those behind journalist's murder responsible
Istanbul — The fiancee of murdered Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi criticized the international community Wednesday for not doing enough to hold those behind the gruesome killing responsible. "The big international organizations failed to do enough," Hatice Cengiz told CBS News on the one-year anniversary of Khashoggi's death. "I think this is because the global political balances required bilateral relations to be protected. It was only the media that kept this matter on the agenda."
Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and prominent critic of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, was murdered last year in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi had entered the consulate to pick up the necessary documents for him to marry Cengiz.
She was waiting outside the consulate and alerted Turkish authorities when Khashoggi failed to come out. According to Turkish investigators, he was dismembered by a hit squad that came from Saudi Arabia.
A U.N. investigation led by Agnes Callamard, the world body's special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, found that the evidence indicated the Saudi government was responsible for Khashoggi's murder and bin Salman may have been aware of it. "Even though Agnes Callamard from the U.N. wrote a report, the U.N. also did not do anything," Cengiz said.
The crown prince denied ordering Khashoggi's murder in an interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor Norah O'Donnell for "60 Minutes." "This was a heinous crime," bin Salman told O'Donnell. "But I take full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia, especially since it was committed by individuals working for the Saudi government."
Khashoggi's remains have not been found. Callamard called on elected leaders to be "braver" when it comes to seeking justice for Khashoggi.
"European states are fairly reluctant to take a stance," she said. "Last week in the Human Rights Council, there was a joint statement led by Australia demanding accountability on the part of Saudi Arabia. A number of European states including France have not signed onto this joint statement. That is not acceptable."
During a ceremony Wednesday to mark the anniversary of Khashoggi's death, his friends and colleagues gathered in front of the Saudi Consulate to erect a memorial stone. The ceremony was also attended by the owner of the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos.
Cengiz is still reeling from losing Khashoggi. "We had a very simple dream," she said. "We dreamt of happiness. He was older than me, but we were very good friends. We were satisfied with what we had. But somebody took that all away from us."