Impunity over Khashoggi affair would give Saudi Arabia 'licence to kill', RSF says

Riyadh has to be held to account for the death of Khashoggi and the imprisonment of other journalists, Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of the Paris-based media rights watchdog tweeted.

"Any attempt to get rid of the pressure on Saudi Arabia and to accept a compromise policy would result in giving a 'license to kill' to a Kingdom that puts in jail, lashes, kidnaps and even kills journalists who dare to investigate and launch debates," he wrote.

"After the recognition of Khashoggi's death, we expect a determined, constant and powerful pressure to be kept on Saudi Arabia in order to get the whole truth on the case and the release of Saudi Arabian journalists (who have) been condemned to crazy and horrible sentences," he added.

After persistent denials of his killing and claims that Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, Saudi authorities on Saturday admitted that the journalist was killed inside its Istanbul consulate, saying he died during a "row".

Rights groups, journalists and US senators have expressed scepticism about Riyadh's explanation, with Khashoggi's editor at the Washington Post, Karen Attiah, calling the Saudi explanation "almost insulting".

His disappearance had tipped Saudi Arabia into one of its worst international crises.

Turkish intelligence have said they have audio and video recordings of Khashoggi's torture and brutal killing in the compound and were investigating a possible 15-man murder squad who are key suspects in the case.

Khashoggi, a contributor to the Washington Post newspaper, had been living in the United States since 2017.

He disappeared on 2 October when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to complete some routine paperwork.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he found Saudi Arabia's explanation about the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi credible and termed it an "important first step." 

But US members of Congress have reacted with scepticism and outrage to Riyadh's admission, dismissing it as a "cover-up" and saying it "defies credibility".

On Friday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a "prompt, thorough and transparent investigation" into Khashoggi's death.