Indonesia Raises Concern Over Fate of Exiled Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Jakarta. Indonesia has voiced concern over the fate of exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was reportedly killed inside his country's consulate in Turkey at the beginning of this month.
"We are very concerned with what happened, especially because it occurred on consular and diplomatic premises. We are hoping that the Turkish authorities will be able to uncover what happened and take appropriate legal steps with the Saudi government to punish the perpetrators," foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.
He added that Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi may raise the matter during a meeting with her Saudi counterpart, Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, during his scheduled visit to Jakarta this week.
Khashoggi, 60, disappeared on Oct. 2 after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to collect marriage documents. After initially denying his death and claiming that he had left the consulate alive, the Saudi Arabian government admitted on Saturday that he died on the premises, but claiming that he had been strangled to death during a fight.
Khashoggi, who resided in the United States and worked as a Washington Post columnist, was a leading critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman.
Details of an ongoing investigation by the Turkish government, which have been leaked to the media, suggest that Khashoggi had been tortured and assassinated by a Saudi hit squad inside the consulate, according to Reuters.
Despite the reported developments, Indonesia says it will wait for more details from the investigation.
While the focus of this week's discussion will be on bilateral issues, Arrmanatha said it is possible that Retno may raise Khashoggi's case during the meeting.
"Of course, it's not just bilateral issues [being discussed] when they meet; so they may touch on [the Khashoggi case]. But we'll have to see how it goes during the meeting," the spokesman said.
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