Khashoggi Fiancée wants Premier League to Block Newcastle Saudi Takeover
Khashoggi,
a dissident Saudi columnist, was killed in 2018 inside Saudi Arabia's consulate
in Turkey.
Western
intelligence agencies believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered his
death - which he denies.
Saudi
Arabia's Public Investment Fund, led by the prince, looks set to acquire an 80%
stake in the club.
But
lawyers speaking on behalf of Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi's fiancée, said the
takeover should be blocked over the killing.
Mike Ashley has
owned Newcastle since 2007 and put the club up for sale in 2017. The proposed
Saudi takeover is thought to be worth some £300 million.
But
it has already caused much controversy.
The Saudi government
has been accused of facilitating the theft of Premier League commercial rights,
while Amnesty International has criticised the potential deal due to the
country's dire human rights record.
The country has also
been accused of "sportswashing", a term used to describe countries
that try to improve their international reputation by investing in major teams
or hosting big sporting events.
But
these accusations have been rebuffed by the Saudi government, which claims it
wants to get more of its people engaged in sport.
Lawyers for Ms
Cengiz said in a letter on her behalf that the Premier League should block the
takeover.
"It
is undoubtedly the right, proper and lawful action for you (chief executive
Richard Masters) and the Premier League to take, especially in light of the
ruthless killing of Ms Cengiz's fiancée," the letter said.
There
should be no place in English football for anyone "involved in such
abhorrent acts", it said.
"The standing
of both the Premiership and English football in general would be tarnished by
your connection with those who commit the most appalling crimes and then seek
to whitewash them, and who seek to use English football as a way of improving
their image and hiding their transgressions."
The journalist who
had gone into self-imposed exile in the US in 2017, went to the Saudi consulate
in Istanbul on 2 October 2018, seeking papers to marry Ms Cengiz.
Investigators
believe that as she waited outside, the 59-year-old was murdered and then
dismembered. Khashoggi's remains have never been found.
The
gruesome killing shocked the world and UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard
said there was credible evidence that Crown Prince Mohammed and other
high-level Saudi officials were individually liable.
A
court in Saudi Arabia last year sentenced five people to death and jailed three
others over his murder.
Turkey
has separately charged 20 suspects over the murder.
FFROM .bbc.com/news/world-middle-east
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