Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday condemned the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi but said the murder should not be exploited to “besiege” Saudi Arabia.
“The killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in that fashion was a brutal act that is unacceptable at all levels. But taking advantage of this murder for goals and objectives unrelated to the crime in a bid to besiege the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is condemned and rejected,” Geagea said in a statement.
“It is deplorable when a crime with the magnitude of journalist Khashoggi’s murder is exploited to undermine the role that KSA has been playing, especially over the past few years,” the LF leader added.
“Had it not been for KSA’s support for a lot of Arab countries and many rightful Arab causes, perhaps the entire face of the Middle East region would have changed,” Geagea went on to say.
He also called “those keen on fighting crime in the world” to “help the judiciary in everything it is doing to unveil all circumstances of this ugly crime” instead of “using it as an excuse to reach goals and objectives that have nothing to do with Jamal Khashoggi, the crime, public freedoms or any other matter.”