In an emotional interview with CNN, the sons of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi issued an emotional appeal for the return of their father's body. The brothers said that without their father’s body, their family is unable to grieve and deal with the emotional burden of their father’s death.
"I really hope that whatever happened wasn't painful for him, or it was quick. Or he had a peaceful death," Abdullah Khashoggi, 33, told CNN during a sit-down interview in Washington with his brother, Salah, 35.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist critical of the Saudi government and its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
Salah and Abdullah said their father was "courageous, generous and very brave". In their first interview since their father was killed in Istanbul, the brothers narrated how they endured weeks of anguish and uncertainty following his disappearance and death.
Salah said, "All what we want right now is to bury him in Al Baqi in Medina with the rest of his family," referencing a cemetery in Saudi Arabia. "I talked about that with the Saudi authorities and I just hope that it happens soon."
Turkey's chief prosecutor said recently that Khashoggi was strangled as soon as he entered the consulate and also confirmed the body was dismembered.
In article published on Friday, Yasin Aktay, an advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, hinted that the body may even have been destroyed in acid.
Washington, Saudi Arabia's usually strong ally, was loud in its criticism and sharp criticism of the kingdom. Khashoggi was a US citizen and had fled Saudi Arabia after he criticised the kingdom in some of his writings.
Though there are allegations that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing, Riyadh has denied these allegations.
Khashoggi's sons voiced worry that the work of their father, a columnist for The Washington Post, was being distorted for political reasons.
"I see a lot of people coming out right now and trying to claim his legacy and unfortunately some of them are using that in a political way that we totally don't agree with," Salah told CNN. "My fear is that it's being over politicised."
Asked how Khashoggi should be remembered, Salah replied, “As a moderate man who has common values with everyone ... a man who loved his country, who believed so much in it and its potential.”
“Jamal was never a dissident. He believed in the monarchy, that it is the thing that is keeping the country together. And he believed in the transformation that it is going through.”