Don’t give Riyadh ‘license to kill’: Reporters Without Borders on Khashoggi death

21 Oct, 2018 07:47

The international community must keep up the pressure on Riyadh after the oil-rich kingdom finally admitted that journalist Jamal Khashoggi died in its consulate in Istanbul, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said. The watchdog called for a boycott of the upcoming Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh and a freeze on all commercial ties with the kingdom. According to RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire, any attempt to relax the pressure would be “tantamount to issuing a ‘license to kill’ to all despotic regimes, starting with the regime in Riyadh.” Earlier, Saudi Arabia claimed that the Washington Post columnist accidentally died in an “fistfight” that erupted inside its consulate in Istanbul on October 2. EU leaders were not satisfied with the Saudi version of how he died and demanded an in-depth probe.