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Khashoggi's fiancee calls for worldwide funeral prayers on Friday

Hatice Cengiz's appeal for the Janazah prayer to be said for murdered journalist in Medina poses awkward questions for Saudi leadership
Cengiz had waited for Khashoggi outside the Istanbul consulate which he had entered to obtain papers necessary to marry her (Reuters)

Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee Hatice Cengiz called on Sunday for Muslims across the world to say funeral prayers for the murdered journalist in all mosques this Friday.

Cengiz especially called for the Janazah prayer to be carried out in the Prophet's Mosque in the Saudi city of Medina, Khashoggi's home city.

The Turkish academic tweeted her wishes in Arabic, English and Turkish.

Cengiz's appeal for such a memorial in Medina poses awkward questions for Saudi Arabia, which has admitted that a team of its operatives murdered the prominent critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his country's consulate in Istanbul.

Khashoggi, who entered the consulate on 2 October to obtain papers necessary to marry Cengiz, wished to be buried in Medina beside his relatives.

They killed you and chopped up your body, depriving me and your family of conducting your funeral prayer and burying you in Madinah as wished

- Hatice Cengiz

However, his remains have never been discovered, and Turkish authorities now believe his dismembered body was dissolved in acid and poured down the consulate's drain.

On hearing the news earlier this week that Khashoggi's remains were likely dissolved, Cengiz again took to Twitter.

"I'm unable to express my sorrow to learn about dissolving your body Jamal!" she said.

"They killed you and chopped up your body, depriving me and your family of conducting your funeral prayer and burying you in Madinah as wished."

"Are these killers and those behind it human beings?" she added.

Talks in Paris

Khashoggi's murder has caused shockwaves around the world and put intense pressure on the Saudi leadership.

On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially acknowledged the existence of an audio recording of the murder, which he said had been shared with the United States, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany and the UK.

Later that day, Erdogan discussed the Khashoggi case with US President Donald Trump over dinner in Paris at a gala of heads of state commemorating the 1918 Armistice's centenary, a White House official said on Sunday.

The two presidents discussed how to respond to the murder, the official said.

Erdogan (R) and his wife pose with Trump (L) and his wife during a dinner for visiting heads of states in Paris (AFP)
Also on Saturday, Trump and France's President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the dinner, agreed that Saudi authorities need to shed full light on the murder, a source in the French presidency told the Reuters news agency.

The two reportedly agreed that the case should not be used to create further destabilisation in the Middle East and said it could be used to help end the war in Yemen, which Riyadh has a lead role in.

'He did the right thing': Hatice Cengiz remembers fiance Jamal Khashoggi
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Their sentiments appeared to echo those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said Saudi Arabia's stability should not be compromised by Khashoggi's murder, as Riyadh is a fierce opponent of Iran.

Erdogan has accused the "highest levels" of the Saudi government of being behind the murder, and many Turkish and international officials, leaders and security services believe the blame lies squarely with the Saudi crown prince.

Riyadh has identified two of bin Salman's closest allies, deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assir and top aide Saoud al-Qahtani as being co-conspirators in the murder.

The heir to the Saudi throne insists he was oblivious to the plot to kill Khashoggi and the subsequent botched cover-up.

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