[NPR] The sons of slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi say they have forgiven their father's killers, paving the way for a legal reprieve for five men sentenced to death for the murder."If a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah," the writer's eldest son, Saleh, tweeted Thursday. "Therefore, we the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi, announce that we pardon those who killed our father."
Saudi law considers a victim's forgiveness as possible grounds for clemency in a death sentence. It is unclear under what circumstances the pardon was extended. Many of Khashoggi's family, including Saleh, currently live or work in Saudi Arabia, which is known for cracking down on dissidents.
Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who lives in Turkey, offered her own less forgiving statement that the journalists's " heinous murder" did not have a statute of limitations and that she "and others will not stop until we get #JusticeForJamal."
"The killers came from Saudi with premeditation to lure, ambush & kill him. Nobody has the right to pardon the killers," Cengiz wrote. "We will not pardon the killers nor those who ordered the killing."