Germany Says Saudi’s Khashoggi Narrative Inadequate

Germany has strongly denounced the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, rejecting Riyadh’s “inadequate” explanation on the death of the prominent critic.

“We condemn this act in the strongest terms,” Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a joint statement issued on Saturday.

Finally admitting that the writer had been slain at the Saudi diplomatic post, Riyadh has claimed Khashoggi died in a “fist fight” in the consulate. Saudi authorities say 18 Saudi suspects were in custody and intelligence officials had been fired.

 The admission of Khashoggi’s murder followed more than two weeks of denials by the kingdom of any involvement in his disappearance.

“We expect transparency from Saudi Arabia about the circumstances of his death … The information available about events in the Istanbul consulate is inadequate,” the German statement said.

Merkel and Maas expressed deep sympathy for Khashoggi’s friends and relatives and said those responsible for his death must be held to account.

In an address to the regional convention of her Christian Democratic Union party in eastern Germany on Saturday, Merkel portrayed the “horrific events” surrounding the journalist’s killing as a warning that democratic freedoms are under assault across the globe.

Press TV

R.S