The son of Jamal Khashoggi announced that his family has forgiven the Washington Post journalist’s killers on Friday, in a surprise gesture that Saudi activists believe was secured by multi-million dollar payouts and intense pressure from the Kingdom’s authorities. In a statement on Friday, Salah Khashoggi wrote: “We, sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi, announce that we forgive those who killed our father.” He added: “On this virtuous night of this holy month, we recall the words of God Almighty in his holy book: 'The repayment of bad actions, is one equivalent to it, But whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward lies with God. He does not love the unjust.'” Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, was kidnapped, killed and dismembered by Saudi agents when he visited the Saudi embassy in Istanbul to obtain paperwork to marry his fiancée in October 2018. It has been alleged that Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, had personally ordered his assassination, though he vehemently denies this and says the murder was carried out by rogue agents without his knowledge. Saudi activists claimed on Friday that the family’s decision to pardon Mr Khashoggi was made following intense pressure by the Saudi authorities, which is paying out vast sums of compensation to the family each month.
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