Jamal khashoggi Controversy | Latest Burning Issues

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JAMAL KHASHOGGI

Mr Khashoggi is a prominent journalist who has covered major stories, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of Osama Bin Laden, for various Saudi news organisations.
He served as an adviser to top Saudi officials, but later fell out of favour with the government.

He went into self-imposed exile in the US last year, and has written a monthly column in the Washington Post in which he has criticised the policies of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

WHY WOULD HE ENTER A SAUDI CONSULATE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

To finalize paperwork for his wedding to Hatice Cengiz, a 36-year-old Turkish doctorate student.
He had recently bought an apartment in Istanbul so the couple, once married, could divide their time between Turkey and the U.S.

WHAT DOES TURKEY SAY HAPPENED TO HIM?

Turkish officials say Mr Khashoggi was tortured and killed on the premises by a team of Saudi agents and that his body was then removed.

WHAT OTHER REACTION HAS THERE BEEN?

Sir Richard Branson, the head of Virgin, has said he is suspending his role as director of two tourism projects.
He has also halted discussions about a $1bn (£750m) investment by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund into Virgin’s space ventures.

CAN SAUDI ARABIA GET AWAY WITH MURDER?

In the Khashoggi case, according to Turkey, the murder has been committed in Istanbul, which is located in Turkish territory.
As a result, because the host country is Turkey, it has responsibility to conduct a judicial investigation against the accused. Ankara has already indicated its intention to pursue the case and the alleged perpetrators.

CAN SAUDI ARABIA GET AWAY WITH MURDER?

If the perpetrators are out of the host country’s territory, the host country can ask for extradition from the state where the fugitive is located, Bulut said. The extradition request is based on something called the ‘principle of territoriality.’
But if a crime has been committed by those with diplomatic immunity and/or has been committed in a location which has diplomatic immunity (like an embassy or consulate), things become much more complicated for the host country in terms of pursuing the perpetrators.

CAN SAUDI ARABIA GET AWAY WITH MURDER?

Ankara says that the alleged crime has been committed by a 15-man Saudi ‘hit squad’, whose members apparently have diplomatic immunity. The crime is alleged to have been committed inside the boundaries of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
According to the Vienna Convention of 1963, which Turkey is a signatory to, without permission from Saudi consulate officials or from the country’s foreign ministry, Turkey can not raid or search the consulate territory

THE GLOBAL MAGNITSKY ACT (GMA)

In Washington, a bipartisan group of US senators demanded that US President Donald Trump evoke the Global Magnitsky Act (GMA) enacted by the US Congress in 2012 against the Saudi government.

WHAT IS THE MAGNITSKY ACT?

After the disappearance of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US Senators triggered the terms of the Global Magnitsky Act, which requires the president to investigate and determine if a foreign person is responsible for an extrajudicial killing, torture or other gross violation of internationally recognised human rights.