Tens of thousands of Muslims flocked to their religion's holiest site to offer prayers in remembrance of a journalist whose body was dismembered at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
Mourners surrounded the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to pay tribute to Jamal Khashoggi, who was their countryman and a vocal critic of the Islamist autocracy that governs the state.
They prayed at the Grand Mosque today to commemorate the dissident, who was strangled to death according to Turkish officials.
Tens of thousands of Muslims flocked to the holy Kaaba (pictured, centre) to remember the murdered journalist, who the Saudis claim was killed by rogue elements who acted beyond their brief. The Turkish government has questioned the narrative and the outpouring comes as news of a second audio tape surfaced, which a columnist claimed proves the killing was pre-meditated
Mourners gathered at Islam's holiest site in memory of the journalist, who was a vocal critic of the Saudi regime before he was killed at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate in Turkey
Worshippers gathered at the Kaaba, whose holiness in the faith is signified by the annual Hajj, in which the faithful make a pilgrimage to the site
It comes as Turkish media claims that an audio tape discredits the official Saudi narrative of the killing after the Kingdom yesterday exonerated its Crown Prince. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, had said the murder was sanctioned by 'the highest levels' of Saudi government.
Five Saudi officials face the death penalty after being accused of murdering Khashoggi, it was revealed yesterday, when the kingdom's deputy public prosecutor said 21 people are in custody and 11 face charges.
Khashoggi (pictured) was killed after entering the consulate in Istanbul and critics of the Saudis have laid the blame at the highest level of government
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is blaming the murder on 'rogue elements' and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said bin Salman has 'absolutely nothing to do' with the death.
'Sometimes mistakes happen,' he said, adding that 'sometimes people exceed their authority'. He added that the kingdom is taking steps 'to make sure this doesn't happen again'.
Today's emotional outpouring at the Kaaba - which is the focus of an annual Islamic pilgrimage known as Hajj - was coupled with dozens of mourners paying homage to Khashoggi in Istanbul.
The crowd gathered at Fatih mosque to conduct a funeral despite not having a body and they stood in front of an empty platform traditionally reserved for the coffin. Among them were supporters from the newly-formed Jamal Khashoggi Friends Association.
'We decided to hold the prayers as we are convinced that his body will never be found,' said executive director of the Turkish-Arab Media Association Fatih Oke of Khashoggi, who was a member of the group.
Attending the funeral, Ibrahim Pekdemir said the rain-soaked ceremony should stand as 'a message delivered to the world to say that the murder will not go unpunished and that justice will be served'.
Yasin Aktay, a close friend of Khashoggi and advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, strongly criticised the Saudi version of events.
'They want us to believe that the killers themselves made the decision to assassinate Jamal Khashoggi, we do not believe in this story,' he said. 'We will continue to ask who are the true contractors of the murder.'
Ayman Nour, a liberal Egyptian politician, said: 'What we heard yesterday from the Saudi public prosecutor is not the justice we were expecting or waiting for, but represents injustice itself.'
For weeks, Khashoggi's family has urged Saudi and Turkish authorities to find his remains and hand them over for burial, but the Saudi prosecutor said their whereabouts are unknown.
Islamic tradition places immense importance on the proper handling of the dead, mandating quick burial. The revelation that the body was dismembered has thus been particularly disturbing.
The decision to hold prayer services in the absence of a body suggests the family does not expect it to be recovered.
Khashoggi's son, Salah, met the king and crown prince in Riyadh last month to receive condolences along with other relatives.
He then departed for Washington after a travel ban was lifted and told CNN on Nov. 5 that he wanted to bury his father in Medina with the rest of the family.
'We just need to make sure that he rests in peace,' Salah said. 'Until now, I still can't believe that he's dead. It's not sinking in with me emotionally.'
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has described Saudi's conclusion was 'insufficient', adding: 'Those who gave the command as well as instigators should also be clarified and this process should not be covered up.'
Mourners in Turkey held this symbolic prayer in honour of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi - a vocal critic of the Saudi regime who was killed in Istanbul
Saudi Arabia will BEHEAD Khashoggi killers: Prosecutors charge 11 suspects and say five face the death penalty for murdering journalist with a lethal injection - but Crown Prince is cleared
By Chris Pleasance
Five Saudi officials are facing the death penalty after being accused of murdering journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Shalaan al-Shalaan, the kingdom's deputy public prosecutor, revealed on Thursday that 21 people are in custody over the killing and charges have been brought against 11 of them.
Al-Shalaan requested the death penalty for five who 'are charged with ordering and committing the crime and for the appropriate sentences for the other indicted individuals'.
Saudi Arabia will seek the death penalty against five men it accuses of carrying out the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul on October 2
But he exonerated Saudi's de-facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman by laying ultimate blame for Khashoggi's killing at the feet of two lesser officials.
Executions in Saudi Arabia are usually carried out publicly by beheading with a sword.
Shalaan said the highest-level official implicated in Khashoggi's killing is former deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri, who gave the order for him to be repatriated to Saudi Arabia from Turkey, where he was living in exile.
He added that it was 'the head of the negotiating team' dispatched to seize Khashoggi who then gave the order to kill him, without naming the man.
Shalaan denied that Salman had any knowledge of the killing. The Crown Prince has blamed it on 'rogue elements' of the Saudi state.
Shalaan al-Shalaan, the deputy public prosecutor of Saudi Arabia, revealed that 21 people are in custody over the killing and 11 of them have been charged
That was a claim backed by foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir who said bin Salman has 'absolutely nothing to do' with the death.
'Sometimes mistakes happen... sometimes people exceed their authority,' he said before adding Saudi was taking steps 'to make sure this doesn't happen again.'
Meanwhile Turkey's public prosecutor said news of the charges was 'positive but insufficient'.
Turkey has previously said it believes officials at the very top level of Saudi's ruling family are to blame for the murder, but stopped short of accusing bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia added that it believes Khashoggi was given a lethal injection inside the country's consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
His body was then dismembered and taken out of the building, Shalaan said, though admitted the kingdom does not not know where the remains are now. Investigations are ongoing to find the remains, the prosecutor insisted.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has not been implicated in the killing after blame was laid at the feet of two lesser officials
Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi's fiancee who was with him at the consulate the day he died to retrieve documents allowing them to marry, has demanded the kingdom hand back his remains for a proper burial.
After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted in mid-October that Khashoggi had been murdered at the compound, but blamed it on a 'rogue' operation.
The prosecutor has requested the death penalty for the five who 'are charged with ordering and committing the crime and for the appropriate sentences for the other indicted individuals,' an official statement published by state news agency SPA said.
It said a total of 21 individuals were in custody in connection with the killing, 11 of whom have been indicted with investigations to continue into the others.
Turkey on Wednesday called for an international investigation into the murder.
Ankara has already shared voice recordings linked to the murder with a number of countries including Saudi Arabia, the United States and its Western allies.
Khashoggi's killing has plunged the world's top oil exporter into its worst diplomatic crisis since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, in which most of the hijackers were identified as Saudi nationals.
After first insisting Khashoggi left the consulate unharmed, Saudi authorities said he was killed in an argument that degenerated into a brawl before finally accepting what Turkey had said virtually from the start - that he was killed in a premeditated hit.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the order to murder Khashoggi came from 'the highest levels' of the Saudi government.
The global fallout over the murder has tainted the image of 33-year-old Prince Mohammed - the de facto ruler and heir apparent - despite persistent Saudi denials that he was involved.
Khashoggi's murder has also led to increased scrutiny of Saudi Arabia's role in the Yemen war, which has pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine. The journalist went into self-imposed exile in the United States in 2017 after falling out with Prince Mohammed.
'I'm suffocating': Final words of Jamal Khashoggi revealed as Mike Pompeo tells Saudi Crown Prince the US will hold everyone involved 'accountable' after Turkey claims hit was ordered 'at the highest level'
By Daily Mail Reporter and AFP and Associated Press
A Turkish newspaper reports the last words of Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident Saudi journalist killed at his country's consulate in Istanbul last month, reveal the way he pleaded with his murderers moments before his death.
It came the same day US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman via phone Sunday, telling the man accused of orchestrating the murder everyone involved will be held 'accountable'.
The Daily Sabah says they will soon publish images of the tools used by a team of 15 people who are suspected of slaying the Washington Post writer, and claim to have heard his final utterances in secret audio recordings on October 2.
Dissident Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was murdered at the Istanbul Saudi consulate
'I'm suffocating … Take this bag off my head, I'm claustrophobic,' Khashoggi said according to the head of investigations for the Turkish newspaper Nazif Karaman.
Karaman told Al Jazeera in an interview that the hit squad placed plastic bags down to protect the floor before dismembering Khashoggi.
The Turkish newspaper claims it took 15 minutes to carry out the grisly killing and traces of acid were discovered at the Saudi consul general's home in Istanbul.
It's believed the body was taken there to be disposed of using chemicals. The Daily Sabah reports the planning of the murder was led by the head of the Saudi Scientific Council of Forensics, Salah al-Tubaigy.
Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, reacts while watching a tribute video to her husband at the commemorative ceremony
A tough critic of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Khashoggi, disappeared after he entered the Saudi consulate (pictured) in Istanbul on October 2 to collect a document
Pompeo spoke to Salman regarding the slaying, which emerged two weeks after the part-time US resident first went missing.
With the Middle Eastern royal being accused of planning the attack, the US-Saudi alliance came under immense strain as people called for America to get to the bottom of the story.
Pompeo told Salman that he expects the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to take the necessary reaction to deliver justice to Khashoggi and his family.
'Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke today with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,' spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement Sunday.
The Daily Sabah reports the planning of the murder was led by the head of the Saudi Scientific Council of Forensics, Salah al-Tubaigy (left and right)
Hatice Cengiz had waited outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for her fiance Jamal Khashoggi before raising the alarm when he failed to emerge. Khashoggi had gone to the consulate to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. She is pictured here weeping at a commemorative ceremony to the journalist in Istanbul yesterday
'The Secretary emphasized that the United States will hold all of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable, and that Saudi Arabia must do the same.'
Pompeo's phone call came one day after President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke about how to respond to the killing at a dinner with heads of state.
As leaders gathered in Paris to mark the World War One Armistice centenary, Erdogan said Saturday that audio recordings of the killing had been given to various governments.
'We gave the tapes. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to the United States, German, French and British, all of them,' the Turkish president said. 'They have listened to all the conversation in them. They know.'
Yasin Aktay speaks in front of images of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a commemorative ceremony
He claimed the operation had been ordered at the 'highest levels' of the Saudi government. Erdogan's comments came the same day the fiancée of murdered Saudi journalist wept as hundreds gathered in Istanbul to honor the memory of her husband.
Hatice Cengiz, 38, was pictured in tears as tributes were paid and images shown of her fiancé to a crowd of around 200.
She had waited outside the Saudi consulate for Khashoggi to emerge before raising the alarm when he failed to appear after going to collect papers for their forthcoming marriage.
Protesters also gathered outside the consulate where Khashoggi was attacked. The murder has pushed attention back to the war in Yemen which the journalist criticized Salman for intervening in.
The Saudi Crown Prince (left) allegedly got a team to meet with Donald Trump's (right) presidential campaign team to help sabotage Hillary Clinton's campaign
The prince's highly controversial intervention to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government in the face of an insurgency by Huthi rebels also came up during the call, the White House spokesperson added.
Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed and the country now stands at the brink of famine.
After Khashoggi's killing was confirmed, royal court media adviser Saud al-Qahtani and deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri were both fired in the aftermath of an investigation.
But adding to speculation Salman was behind the Khashoggi killing, the New York Times reports the prince sent Assiri to attend a meeting in March 2017 where they allegedly inquired about hiring private companies to assassinate Iranian enemies.
People chant slogans and hold posters in protest of Saudi Arabia's actions in Yemen during a protest outside the Saudi Arabian consulate Istanbul - where Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered
Fire and smoke rise after a Saudi-led airstrike hit a site believed to be one of the largest weapons depots on the outskirts of Yemen's capital, Sanaa (pictured October 2016)
Citing three people familiar with the discussions, Salman is said to have ordered advisers to ramp up military and intelligence operations abroad.
During the alleged meeting there was supposedly talk of a $2billion plan to sabotage Iran's economy and kill Qassim Suleimani, the Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds force leader.
Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, a convicted pedophile, was said to have pitched the plan to White House officials and met with Salman beforehand.
Saudi was said to be feeling the threat of Clinton leading the US to mean a continuation of the Iran nuclear deal Barack Obama had signed
He was allegedly present at meetings about the plan, accompanied by Israeli Joel Zamel, a man with deep ties to Israel's intelligence and security agencies.
Both Nader - also an adviser to the Crown Prince Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates, - and Zamel are witnesses in the current Robert Mueller-led inquiry into possible meddling in Trump's presidential campaign.
The special counsel and his team have questioned them on American-Saudi talks on the Iran sabotage proposal.
It's not clear how the two are specifically related however it was reported Zamel's Psy-Group had also pitched the Trump presidential campaign team on a social media sabotage plan in 2016.
Saudi was said to be feeling the threat of Hillary Clinton leading the US to mean a continuation of the Iran nuclear deal Barack Obama had signed.
Lawyers for the company consulted about sabotaging Iran reportedly rejected the plan and suggested another London-based company operated by former British special operations troops.
The Times obtained a 2017 email Nader sent an associate where he wrote the prince - referred to as MBS - advised him to 'review [possible contracts] and discuss it with General Ahmed'.
Nader allegedly told the associate around the time he was gathering with both Salman and Assiri: 'Had a truly magnificent meeting with MBS.'
The Saudi government as well as Nader and Zamel's lawyers declined to comment to The Times.
US President Trump has previously said he expects to form a 'stronger opinion' by this coming week on Khashoggi's killing and Washington's response. He said he was working with Congress, Turkey and KSA to establish who bore responsibility.
George Nader poses backstage with President Donald Trump at a Republican fundraiser in Dallas October 25, 2017. Nader, a convicted paedophile, was told by the Secret Service that he could not meet the president. His business partner, Elliott Broidy, helped him secure this photo
Pompeo and Trump spoke about the importance of keeping close ties with KSA due to the strong commercial, strategic and national security relationships between the countries, when the story first emerged.
However the US has gotten stricter as more details were revealed about the way Khashoggi was killed.
The top US diplomat previously said Khashoggi's killing 'violates the norms of international law,' and that the US was reviewing possible sanctions on an individual basis for those found to be involved.
Khashoggi was a critic of Salman and was killed after a team sent from Riyadh arrived at the consulate hours before him.
Saudi authorities have acknowledged that the killing was premeditated, but his body has not been found.
'On Yemen, the secretary reiterated the United States' calls for a cessation of hostilities and for all parties to come to the table to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict under the UN Special Envoy,' Nauert said.
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/category/the-sun-world/
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/tens-of-thousands-of-muslims-gather-in-mecca-to-say-prayers-for-murdered-jamal-khashoggi/
News Pictures Tens of thousands of Muslims gather in Mecca to say prayers for murdered Jamal Khashoggi
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st
To achieve her kick-ass figure, Hayden – who plays cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes – follows the ‘quartering’ rule. She eats only a quarter of the food on her plate, then waits 20 minutes before deciding whether she needs to eat again.
Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”
Nicollette says: “I don’t like diets – I see it, I eat it! I believe in eating healthily with lots of protein, vegetables and carbs to give you energy.”
kim cattrall
Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb
SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/11/16/18/6285728-6398801-image-a-1_1542393917088.jpg
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий