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Khashoggi fiancee rejects Trump's WH invitation fearing a public relations stunt

Friday, 26 October 2018 9:08 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 26 October 2018 11:38 PM ]

A still image taken from an interview with Turkish broadcaster Haberturk shows Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, speaking in Istanbul, Turkey, October 26, 2018. (Photo via Reuters)

The fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Hatice Cengiz, has revealed her rejection of United States President Donald Trump's White House invitation, fearing that it may have been a public relations stunt.

“Trump invited me to the United States but I perceived it as a statement to win [his own] public favor,” said Cengiz during an interview with Turkish broadcaster Haberturk on Friday.

During the interview, Cengiz also revealed further details surrounding Khashoggi's brutal death, pausing several times during the program to hold back tears, explaining that her fiance "had questions in mind about whether something untoward could actually happen at the consulate,” but had ultimately assumed that he would not be arrested or harmed in Turkey, specifically after being treated well during an initial visit to the Saudi consulate in late September.

“His local network in Turkey was very good as you know, his political network as well,” Cengiz said, pointing out that “he thought Turkey is a safe country and if he would be held or interrogated, this issue would be swiftly solved.”

Khashoggi – a US resident, Washington Post columnist, and a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – entered the consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain a document certifying he had divorced his ex-wife, but reportedly never left the building.

Saudi officials have since presented numerous contradicting explanations over the journalist's fate, originally insisting that Khashoggi had left the diplomatic mission after finishing his paperwork, only to admit several days later that he had in fact been killed inside the building.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor revealed on Thursday that a joint Saudi-Turkish investigation had reached the conclusion that the murder was “premeditated,” effectively dismissing an earlier account that the dissident journalist had died in an accidental "altercation".

Several countries, including major allies of Riyadh, have called for clarifications on the murder, while many politicians have subsequently brought into question their countries' existing arms and trade deals with the oil-rich kingdom.

Earlier on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the Saudis to specifically reveal the identities of those who had ordered the gruesome killing to take place.