Turkey works to serve cause of justice: Ruling party

ANKARA

Turkey has carried out a principled process for the sake of justice while others were trying to serve their own benefits, the country's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party said Wednesday.

Referring to Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist killed a year ago at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, party spokesman Omer Celik said: "Some people are trying to make this a bilateral issue between Saudi Arabia and Turkey. This is certainly not the case, the king and of course the people of Saudi Arabia are out of the debate."

Saudi Arabia initially denied any knowledge of his whereabouts after Khashoggi went missing last Oct. 2, but later tried to blame his death on a team of rogue operatives carrying out a botched rendition operation and put 11 men on trial.

According to reports by the UN and other independent organizations, Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently accepted responsibility for the killing but denied ordering it.