1 year after Khashoggi disappeared at Saudi Consulate, mourners mark journalist's killing
The kingdom says it is trying 11 people for the killing
Activists and friends of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi met near Saudi Arabia's Consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday to mourn the first-year anniversary of his disappearance, allegedly at the hands of Saudi agents.
The memorial began just after 1:14 p.m. local time — the time Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, walked into the consulate a year ago to collect documents required for him to marry his Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who was waiting for him outside. He never emerged.
During the ceremony, activists called for a comprehensive UN investigation into the killing and action to ensure the killer or killers don't go unpunished.
Post owner Jeff Bezos, also the founder of Amazon, joined mourners and praised Cengiz, who paced a street outside the Saudi Consulate for hours waiting for him to re-emerge.
"No one should ever have to endure what you did," Bezos said. "You need to know that you are in our hearts. We are here and you are not alone."
Participants later unveiled a memorial for Khashoggi, who had become a sharp critic of the Saudi kingdom.
Several questions linger a year since his killing, including the whereabouts of his body and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's possible culpability.
Saudi Arabia says it is trying 11 people for the killing, but few details about the case have been released.
Bin Salman, meanwhile, said in an interview this week he takes full responsibility for the killing but denied he ordered it.