GRIEVING

Khashoggi’s Sons Plead For Return of Father’s Body on CNN

Murdered journalist's sons say their only wish is to bury their father in Medina "with the rest of his family.”

The sons of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi pled for the return of their father’s body in a Sunday interview with CNN, while defending his legacy against claims that he was a dangerous Islamist. “All what we want right now is to bury him in Al-Baqi [cemetery] in Medina with the rest of his family [...] I talked about that with the Saudi authorities and I just hope that it happens soon,” said the journalist's 35-year-old son, Salah. Since Khashoggi first disappeared from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, his body has not been found. It’s possible it never will be: as The Daily Beast previously reported, an adviser to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed earlier this week that Khashoggi’s body was dismembered and “dissolved” soon after he was murdered. The sons also disputed the claim that their father was a dangerous Islamist, which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly claimed on a call with Jared Kushner and John Bolton. Salah told CNN that his father should be remembered “as a moderate man who has common values with everyone... a man who loved his country, who believed so much in it and its potential.”