The entire world is waiting for justice to be served after the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Turkey fulfilled its mandate, in a way that is worthy of a state of law, regarding the murder of Khashoggi inside Saudi Arabia's Consulate in Istanbul and exposing the perpetrators behind the brutal disposal of his corpse.
In this regard, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has inspired awareness around the world about this murder through public speeches and in an article he wrote in The Washington Post.
In his article, Erdoğan stated that Khashoggi entered Saudi Arabia's Consulate in Istanbul for marriage proceedings on Oct. 2, and that no one ever saw him again: "Over the course of the past month, Turkey has moved heaven and earth to shed light on all aspects of this case. As a result of our efforts, the world has learned that Khashoggi was killed in cold blood by a death squad, and it has been established that his murder was premeditated."
Erdoğan also stated that King Salman had no prior knowledge of the incident. Erdoğan then directly addressed the killers and the people who ordered the murder: "Yet, there are other, no less significant questions whose answers will contribute to our understanding of this deplorable act. Where is Khashoggi's body? Who is the ‘local collaborator' to whom Saudi officials claimed to have handed over Khashoggi's remains? Who gave the order to kill this kind soul? Unfortunately, the Saudi authorities have refused to answer those questions. We know the perpetrators are among the 18 suspects detained in Saudi Arabia. We also know those individuals came to carry out their orders: Kill Khashoggi and leave. Finally, we know the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest levels of the Saudi government."
The world is convinced that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also widely known as MBS, is the person who ordered the hit. Of course, no one can be convicted without a trial, but the data and all the evidence seems to back those who regard MBS as "the culprit."
However, even if they did not commit the murder, questions revolving around the Turkish citizens who played a role in disposing the body and more importantly, the name of the senior official who ordered the 18-person hit squad in the first place need to be answered.
The U.S. has a very important mission. Today, there are midterm elections in the U.S. and President Donald Trump is literally sweating. If the Democrats win today, as they are expected to do, then Trump may have a difficult time due to many other issues as well as the Khashoggi case. Due to the American president's close relations with MBS, he has been the target of very heavy accusations over the past few weeks.
Countries such as Israel and Egypt rushed to defend MBS. At the same time, the crown prince made large donations in both the U.S. and EU. Why so much panic? MBS has been able to influence Western countries by buying large quantities of arms from them so far, or to be more specific, until the murder of Khashoggi.
However, after the murder, the U.S. and some EU member states, famous for their arms sales, are rightly under pressure from their public. The public is absolutely right. The fact that Saudi Arabia is buying weapons from these countries should not allow a cover-up of its involvement.
The American public is rightly following the murder investigation of the journalist, who wrote for The Washington Post, and the destruction of his body very closely. The same goes for EU citizens.
A failure to hold those responsible for the murder accountable at this point means the values the United States or the EU have long defended would have been disregarded and trampled on. This cannot be allowed.
As a result, since Turkey has done its share, it is now time for the U.S. and EU to do their part.
Pressure must be put on the kingdom to do a thorough investigation into the crown prince's possible involvement in the crime and if he is found guilty, firm steps should be taken to hold him accountable and to strip him of his title.
Now, we expect the U.S. and the EU to do their duty.
