Fiancé of journalist murdered by Saudi regime blasts Greg Norman for ‘we all make mistakes’ comment on bone saw killing – after golf legend also shocked with awful remark on regime’s record of homophobia
- Norman’s controversial golf tour is funded by the Saudi Arabia Government
- 81 men including a Washington Post journalist have been slain in Saudi Arabia
- The United States CIA recently concluded the Saudi Government was guilty
- The fiancé of the slain journalist has accused Norman of ‘losing his morals’
Aussie golfing legend Greg Norman has been slammed by the wife of a slain journalist and Aussie fellow golfing icon Karrie Webb for his defence of the Saudi Arabian government.
Norman’s company, LIV Golf Investments – a competitor to the PGA Tour – is primarily funded by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
Norman has come under fire for comments he made regarding Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018.
Norman has courted controversy ever since he linked with the Saudi Government for funding
A team of agents from Saudi Arabia dismembered Khashoggi with a bone saw inside the consulate, according to Turkish officials.
Some members of the group were affiliated with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s office. Unfortunately, his remains have never been discovered.
US intelligence agencies and the US Congress said an operation of this magnitude could not have been carried out without the knowledge of the Crown Prince and concluded that he had ordered the attack on the slain journalist.
‘Look, we’ve all made mistakes and you just want to learn by those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward,’ Norman said on Wednesday.
Jamal Khashoggi and Hatice Cengiz in happier days before his tragic death
Cengiz is seeking justice for the slaying of Khashoggi and has slammed Norman for his comments including saying ‘we all make mistakes’
Hatice Cengiz was the fiancé of Khashoggi and she fired back via a statement issued by her lawyer, accusing Norman of being blinded by money.
‘Would you say that if it was your loved one? How can we go forward when those who ordered the murder are still unpunished, and continue to try to buy back their legitimacy?’ she asked.
‘We should not fall for their wealth and lies, and lose our morals and common humanity.
‘We should all be insisting on the truth and justice; only then can we look forward with hope and dignity.’
The inaugural LIV Golf Invitational will take place from June 9-11 at Centurion Golf Club outside London, and a field of 48 players will compete for over 54 holes for a $20 million purse.
The winner receives $4 million – to date, golf’s richest prize – and last place receives $120,000.’
Later asked about Saudi Arabia’s discrimination against the LGBTQ community, Norman replied: ‘I’m not sure whether I even have any gay friends, to be honest with you.’
Norman also said he just ‘kept moving on’ when asked about the execution of 81 men in the country in March.
‘I got a lot of messages but quite honestly, I look forward. I don’t look back. I don’t look into the politics of things. I’m not going to get into the quagmire of whatever else happens in someone else’s world. I heard about it and just kept moving on,’ he said.
The comments have shattered another former Australian World No.1 in Karrie Webb, who used to idolise Norman when she was growing up.
‘The little girl in me just died well and truly!! Has anyone’s childhood hero disappointed them as much as I am now,’ Webb tweeted.
Webb idolised Norman growing up but was compelled to speak up on Twitter after the controversial golfers recent comments defending the Saudi Arabia Government
Amnesty International UK’s head of campaigns Felix Jakens has also slammed Norman’s comments.
‘Greg Norman’s remarks that the Saudi government’s brutal murder of Khashoggi and its attempted cover-up were a ‘mistake’ are wrong and seriously misguided. Far from trying to ‘move on’, the Saudi authorities have attempted to sweep their crimes under the carpet, avoiding justice and accountability at every turn,’ he said.
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