Ghana Parliament condemns killing of Jamal Khashoggi

Parliament has condemned the heinous murder of Saudi national and Washington Post contributor, Jamal Khashoggi, in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey.

It called for an impartial investigation into the killing to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, asked the United Nations and other international agencies to be at the centre of the investigation.

He said the manner of the killing of the journalist "flies in the face of human rights".

Prof Oquaye said the breach of immunity of embassies was a worrying development, and stated no cover up should be allowed in the current development.

The Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, set the stage for the condemnation of the murder by reading a statement on the manner Jamal Khashoggi lost his life.

Mr Iddrisu said Ghana should not support a cover up of the heinous murder of the journalist.

He asked the West, especially the United States of America (USA) not to allow the Saudi government to have its way in the name of protecting their trading interest with Saudi Arabia.

He urged Parliament of Ghana to join the world to make its voice heard in registering it protest against the murder to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Jamal Khasoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

On 2 October, Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known journalist and critic of the Saudi government, walked into Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, and he has not been seen since.

Turkish officials believe he was murdered by a team of Saudi agents inside the building and said they have evidence, including gruesome audio recordings, to back this up.

After initial denials and claims that he had left the consulate shortly after arriving, Saudi Arabia has now admitted the journalist is dead, and that he was killed in a "rogue operation" that the leadership had not been aware of.

Eighteen suspects of the murder are in Saudi custody awaiting trial.

Nine questions

In her contribution, the Deputy Majority Leader, Ms Sarah Adwoa Safo, supported the call for an independent investigation into the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

She posed nine questions that needed to be answered by Saudi Arabian authorities.

The questions were: was Khasoggi really considering to return to Saudi Arabia?; why did it take 15 men to travel to Istanbul for a meeting?; why did the Saudi group include a forensic expert and members of the security forces?; what actually happened inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey, Istanbul?; what happened to Khashoggi's body?; why did Saudi Arabia saying he had left the consulate when he had not?; how could the Crown Prince not have known that something of that sort was happening?, and wondered whether the men detained by Saudi Arabia were actually the same men that were identified by the Turkish authorities and last why did it take 17 days for the Saudi authorities to come out with their account of the murder.

Other contributions

Other contributors, namely the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mr Mahama Ayariga, the MP for Awutu-Senya West, Mr George Andah, the MP for Builsa North, Mr James Agalga, the MP for Lawra, Mr Anthony Margo, the MP for Wa Central, Dr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, the MP for Tempane, Mr Joseph Dindiok Kpemka, and the MP for Ellembelle, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, said the murder of the journalist was heinous and gruesome, which was against international human rights.

They stressed the need for a thorough investigation to be conducted to identify and punish the perpetrators.

That, the legislators said, was crucial to serve as a deterrent to individuals and countries harbouring such wicked intentions.