By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC TIMES

 U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for a “credible” investigation into journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, AFP reported Sunday.     

“It is absolutely essential to have a credible investigation and to have the punishment of those that were guilty.” 

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at a conference in Doha. 

The UN chief said he had no information on the case except what had been reported in the media.

Khashoggi, a Washington  Post investigative reporter was reportedly murdered inside the  Saudi Arabia Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.  

Khashoggi, a Saudi contributor to the Washington Post, was killed on 2 October shortly after entering the kingdom’s consulate in what Riyadh called a “rogue” operation.   Saudi Arabia has repeatedly rejected Turkish demands to extradite suspects connected to the murder of the journalist, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,  according to AFP.   According to Turkey, a 15-member Saudi team was sent to Istanbul to kill Khashoggi, a palace insider turned critic of the regime. Riyadh has since detained 21 people over the murder.

Amnesty International Urges UN To Investigate Khashoggi murder 

The UN is under pressure by world political leaders, activists, and humanitarian organizations to conduct and independent investigation into the  Khashoggi murder. 

Amnesty International Secretary General Kumi Naidoo appealed to UN Secretary-General Guterres last month, calling upon him to set up a UN investigation the slain journalist’s murder.  

“I’ve written to@antonioguterres today on behalf of more than 170,000 @amnesty supporters,urging him to set up a UN investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist#JamalKhashoggi. His family deserves the truth, and everyone responsible for this crime should be held to account,” Naidoo tweeted.