Thursday’s ruling in an Istanbul criminal court came as a stunning overthrow by Turkey, which in the years following Kasogi’s assassination at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul took extraordinary steps to publicize the Saudi government’s role in the conspiracy. More recently, however, the Erdogan government has sought to improve ties with the kingdom as Turkey faces one of its worst economic crises in decades. Turkish prosecutor demands transfer of Kasogi murder trial to Saudi Arabia The court ruling was strongly criticized by human rights groups on Thursday, as well as by Hatice Cengiz, Kasogi’s fiancée, who alerted the world for the first time since the journalist’s disappearance after entering the Saudi consulate one afternoon. Over the years, she has traveled the world, speaking to parliaments, politicians and the media in an effort to hold perpetrators accountable. “We are not going to give up just because of a legal decision,” he told reporters outside the huge Istanbul court complex on Thursday. “We can not continue as if nothing happened.” Much is known about what happened to Kasogi, thanks to Turkey. Prior to his death, Kasogi contributed columns to the Washington Post, some of which were highly critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia. Turkey released recordings, surveillance footage and other material revealing that a group of Saudi agents had traveled to Istanbul and waited for Kasogi, then killed and dismembered him. His remains were never found. Erdogan, who called Kasogi a friend, appeared outraged, saying the assassination was ordered at the “high levels” of the Saudi government. The kingdom, which faced a global condemnation of the murder, held its own closed-door trial, but never named the suspects it was prosecuting. He announced in September 2020 that eight people had been convicted, but has not yet provided evidence that anyone has been imprisoned or that some high-ranking officials have faced punishment. “Transferring this file to a country where there is no justice is an example of irresponsibility towards the Turkish people,” said Gokmen Baspinar, a lawyer representing Cengiz in court on Thursday, referring to Saudi Arabia. His colleague, Ali Ceylan, asked the judge to “protect the honor and dignity of the Turkish nation” by refusing to send the trial to the Saudis. “Let us not trust the lamb to the wolf,” he said.
