Leading rights groups urge Turkey to call for UN probe into Khashoggi case

Four leading human rights and press freedom groups have urged Turkey to call for a UN probe into the possible murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in order to prevent a cover-up of the alleged crime.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday that a probe established by UN chief Antonio Guterres would shed light on the fate of the prominent dissident journalist and prevent a "whitewash". 

"Turkey should enlist the UN to initiate a timely, credible, and transparent investigation," said Robert Mahoney, deputy executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"UN involvement is the best guarantee against a Saudi whitewash or attempts by other governments to sweep the issue under the carpet to preserve lucrative business ties with Riyadh."

Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said Khashoggi's family and the rest of the world deserve the full truth about what happened to him.

"Partial explanations and one-sided investigations by Saudi Arabia, which is suspected of involvement, aren't good enough. Only the UN has the credibility and independence required to expose the masterminds behind Khashoggi's enforced disappearance and to hold them to account."

However, British Ambassador Karen Pierce said the UN will only step in to investigate this case if it receives a request, adding it is unlikely that the Saudi government will take such a step.

Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Media reports citing Turkish officials have said Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents within minutes of entering the consulate and that his body was dismembered.

PressTV-'Turkish police say audio shows Khashoggi killed'

Two sources tell Reuters that the Turkish police has the audio showing that Jamal Khashoggi had been killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

US partly responsible for Khashoggi's fate

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said the US bears a "certain responsibility" for the fate of Khashoggi.

"As far as I know, the journalist that disappeared lived in the US. In this sense, of course, the US holds a certain responsibility over what happened to him," Putin told the Valdai Discussion Club in the southern Russian city of Sochi.

While Saudi Arabia is globally under fire for its alleged role in the possible assassination, US President Donald Trump has tried to whitewash Riyadh's possible role by suggesting that "rogue killers" may have carried out the crime.

PressTV-Whitewashing Saudis, Trump hints at ‘rogue killers’

The US president, as analysts imply, is trying to whitewash Saudi rulers in the case of Jamal Khashoggi.

US gives Saudis 'a few more days'

The Trump administration on Thursday gave Saudi Arabia more time to investigate the journalist's fate. The decision was made after Trump met for less than an hour with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who gave the president an update on his talks this week with Saudi and Turkish officials about the Khashoggi case.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Trump, Pompeo said he made clear to the Saudis that "we take this matter with respect to Mr. Khashoggi very seriously."

The top US diplomat said he told Trump that "we ought to give them a few more days to complete" their investigation in order to get a full understanding of what happened "at which point we can make decisions about how - or if - the United States should respond to the incident surrounding Mr. Khashoggi."

"I think it’s important for us all to remember too that we have a long — since 1932 — we have a long strategic relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Pompeo added.

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The incident has caused a global outcry, but also posed a dilemma to the United States and other Western nations, which have lucrative business dealings with the authoritarian kingdom and count on it as a key ally in the Middle East.

Following the incident, several high-ranking European officials including ministers from France and the UK and world business leaders called off their participation in a high-profile investor conference in Saudi Arabia over the apparent killing of Khashoggi.

Under the pressure of its allies and American entrepreneurs, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also announced on Thursday that he would not participate in the Future Investment Initiative summit in Saudi Arabia.

An administration official told CNN that no other government officials will attend next week's summit in Mnuchin's place.

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