Khashoggi family forgives killers

Riyadh, May 22

The family of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said on Friday that they had forgiven the men who murdered their father, paving the way for a legal reprieve for five defendants sentenced to death for the October 2018 killing.

“If a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah,” Khashoggi’s son Salah tweeted. “Therefore, we the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi announce that we pardon those who killed our father.”

In Saudi Arabia, which lacks a codified legal system and follows Islamic law, forgiveness from a victim’s family in cases of murder can allow for a formal pardon.

The Saudi court which issued the five death sentences in December said the killing was not premeditated, a ruling which backed assertions by Saudi officials but contradicted the findings of a UN-led probe into the killing. —Reuters