Norway Summons Saudi Ambassador Over Khashoggi Case
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Norway summoned the Saudi ambassador on Thursday over the death of The Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Ine Eriksen Soereide, announced on Friday.
The development came days after the Saudi prosecutor-general acknowledged that the murder of Jamal Khashoggi had been plotted in advance. Riyadh maintains that the assassination was a rogue operation, and has nothing to do with the royal family.
"We have raised the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and presented our point of view to the Saudi ambassador several times after it was known. We underlined how seriously we take this issue again yesterday, when he was at the Foreign Ministry for a discussion," Ine Eriksen Soereide said in a statement, Sputnik reported.
In late October, Denmark's Minister of Foreign Affairs Anders Samuelsen also announced his intention to summon the Saudi ambassador over the case.
Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul on October 2. His death was confirmed on October 19 by the Saudi prosecutor-general after weeks of speculation and reports that the journalist could have been murdered inside the cosular premises.
Riyadh has denied the royal family's involvement, having announced that 18 people were arrested as part of the investigation. Most recently, the Saudi prosecutor-general stated that Khashoggi's killing had been orchestrated in advance, while the Istanbul prosecutor's office said that his body was dismembered and destroyed after he was strangled inside the consulate.
US President Donald Trump has called for a thorough investigation into what he claimed was "the worst cover-up ever," and stressed that he believed the royal family had no prior knowledge of the operation.
Speaking on Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington was satisfied with the cooperation with Riyadh on the case, but would develop its own judgements of who should be held accountable.
