Pro-MbS tweet by Khashoggi's son raises concerns for his safety

A new Twitter post by the son of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has raised concerns about his safety given the suprising statement in the message.

As the anniversary of his father's death approached, Salah Khashoggi - who still lives in Saudi Arabia - said on Twitter that "enemies" of Saudi Arabia were "exploiting" his father’s death.

"One year after my dear father's passing away, enemies of this nation in the east and the west have tried to exploit his passing to undermine my country and its leaders," Salah tweeted.

"Throughout his life, my father did not accept any insult or attempt to undermine them, and I won't accept that his memory and case are used for this purpose after his passing away.

"I repeat what I said before, I have total confidence in the judiciary of the kingdom to achieve full justice regarding the perpetrators of this horrible crime, and I will be, like Jamal Khashoggi, faithful to God and then the nation and its leadership."

Many Twitter users expressed disbelief voicing sceptism about Salah's words. While Jamal Khashoggi identified as a Saudi patriot, he was a prominent critic of the polices Saudi strongman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and had gone into exile to avoid the possibility of arrest.

On 2 October 2018 he was drugged and murdered after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul with his body dismembered. His remains have yet to be found.

Mohammed bin Salman is widely believed to have personally ordered the killing, despite his denials. In a recent interview with CBS, the Saudi crown prince said that he took "full responsibility" for Khashoggi’s death but was not involved in the killing.

His statements were dismissed by the UN rapporteur responsible for investigating Khashoggi’s death, who had previously said there was "credible evidence" that Bin Salman was involved.

Apart from his Turkish fiancée, no member of Jamal Khashoggi's immediate family have publicly criticised the Saudi regime for their role in the journalist's killing.

Mohammed bin Salman met with Salah Khashoggi less than a month after Jamal's murder, causing outrage worldwide. Salah appeared stone-faced and sombre at the meeting.

In response to Salah's latest post, Twitter user Mohammed Al-Buainain said "no rational person will believe that such words can come from the son of a person who hasn't been buried one year after he was killed and cut into pieces. His family don't know until this day where the pieces are. May God help them and have mercy on their dead".

 
Another Twitter user told Salah, “You have an excuse for what you're saying, as long as you are in Saudi Arabia with them, you have to say this, or you will face the same fate as your father. May God have mercy on him and grant him paradise.”