The children of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who Turkish officials said was killed in a gruesome attack inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago, have joined Twitter and are calling for an independent investigation into his disappearance.
“The strong moral and legal responsibility which our father instilled in us obliges us to call for the establishment of an independent and impartial international commission to inquire into the circumstances of his death,” tweeted the new account for Abdullah Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist’s son, on behalf of his family on Monday.
In a followup tweet, the account linked to a Washington Post story with a statement saying the family was “sadly and anxiously” following the news of his disappearance.
Khashoggi has been missing since Oct. 2, when he entered the Saudi consulate to obtain paperwork for his upcoming marriage. His fiancé, Hatice Cengiz, was left waiting outside the consulate for hours. A prominent critic of the Saudi royal family, Khashoggi has lived in exile in Virginia and was a writer for the Washington Post.
Turkish officials told the New York Times on Wednesday they have audio evidence that Khashoggi was “beheaded, dismembered” within a few minutes of entering the consulate in Istanbul. Later in the day, President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he was skeptical of the existence of the audio.
“I’m not sure yet that it exists, probably does, possibly does,” Trump said. “I’ll have a full report on that” when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo returned from a meeting in Turkey. “That’s going to be the first question I ask.”
In his last column for the Washington Post, Khashoggi said Arab governments were “silencing the media.”