19 May 2020; MEMO: Hatice Cengiz, fiancée of the late Saudi journalist and writer, Jamal Khashoggi, called for the English Premier League not to allow the completion of the sale of Newcastle United football team to the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, which is controlled by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, as his hands are stained with her fiancé’s blood.
This came in an article published by British newspaper The Guardian, entitled: “The Saudi regime murdered my fiancé. It can’t be allowed to buy Newcastle United.”
Bin Salman is attempting to restore his tainted image after his involvement in the murder of Khashoggi at his country’s consulate in Istanbul. According to Cengiz, if the Premier League proceeds, its reputation will be “stained for good”.
She added that human rights groups have condemned this cynical attempt by the kingdom to “sportswash” its human rights abuses.
She pointed out that: “Over the past years the Saudi crown prince has spent a fortune positioning himself to the world as a moderniser and reformer. But detention, torture, and murder have been the backdrop to this. Among the regime’s abuses have been those committed during the war in Yemen – which have led the UN to make credible allegations of war crimes. And my fiancé, the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, became a victim of the regime in October 2018.”
