Khashoggi's fiancee pins hope on Biden to solve murder

COPENHAGEN

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said she was hopeful that the new US administration will solve the murder case.

Speaking to the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK and the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, Cengiz said she trusts that the new director of US national intelligence, Avril Haines, will release the CIA's report on the Khashoggi murder.

While admitting the complex relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia, she said she is optimistic that US President Joe Biden will stand by its goal of “promoting human rights and American values".

“Those who know the truth should tell the truth. And the US knows the truth. The Americans know who gave the order for the murder and who sent the killers to Istanbul,” she said.

Adding that she has talked to politicians and leaders around the world to find who is responsible for her fiance's death, Cengiz said: “The arrows point to Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman."

Asked about the Netflix decision to not show Brian Fogel's documentary The Dissident on Khasgoggi's murder, Cengiz said she believes there are economic and commercial reasons behind the decision.

“I still encourage everyone to watch the documentary from platforms where it can be rented and or be viewed,” she said.

Khashoggi was brutally killed and likely dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, and while Saudi officials initially denied any role in his death they later sought to pin blame on what they said was a botched rendition operation.

That explanation has been widely rejected by both the UN, and US lawmakers, and the CIA reportedly concluded in its still classified report that Bin Salman directly ordered his killing.

During his time in office, former President Donald Trump had consistently sought to shield the Saudi leader from repercussions amid widespread bipartisan outcry.

Haines committed during her confirmation hearing to providing Congress with the intelligence community's unclassified report on the murder.

* writing and contribution by Iclal Turan in Ankara.