Slain journalist Khashoggi’s sons say they forgive their father’s killers

The sons of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, on Friday, said, that they “forgive” the killers of their father.

 “We the sons of martyr Jamal Khashoggi announce we forgive and pardon those who killed our father,” the Washington Post columnist's son Salah Khashoggi said on Twitter.

 The legal ramifications of the announcement from Saudi resident Salah, are not immediately clear.

Khashoggi, a columnist with the Washington Post was a royal family insider-turned-critic. He was killed and dismembered at Saudi Arabia’s consulate at Istanbul on October 2, 2018. His remains were never retrieved. Khashoggi’s killing caused much uproar internationally and tarnished Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reputation. The de facto ruler was trying to build a positive image for the Kingdom by introducing changes like allowing women to drive, doing away with public flogging as punishment and allowing women to visit a stadium to view a sporting event.

The US, for the longest time, put pressure on Saudi to conduct an investigation into the journalist’s murder. Saudi Arabia maintained silence over the incident and denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s murder.

Khashoggi’s son, Salah had previously said that he had “full confidence” in the judicial system and criticised opponents he said were seeking to exploit the case.

In September 2019, Mohammed bin Salman said that the grisly killing "happened under my watch," but asserted that he did not order it.

 In December 2019, after a series of secretive proceedings, Saudi Arabia sentenced five to death and three others to prison over Khashoggi’s murder.

The Washington Post in April reported that Khashoggi's children, including Salah, had received multimillion-dollar homes and were being paid thousands of dollars per month by authorities.