On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, columnist for the “Washington Post”, entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul to pick up documents for his upcoming wedding. His fiancée was waiting outside. She was never to see him again. At the time, all that came from Brussels were protest notes.
Two years after Khashoggi’s murder, a sanction mechanism for human rights violators is under discussion in the EU. For the German Federal Government, which will take over the EU Council Presidency on 1 July, this sanctions mechanism must have the highest priority. In the Frankfurter Rundschau, Margarete Bause (Green spokeswoman for human rights in the Bundestag) and I have campaigned for a transparent and effective sanctions mechanism:
Those who trample human rights with their feet can hardly be impressed by appeals. An EU sanctions mechanism would be an important step. To build a deterrent scenario for human rights violators. To ensure that those responsible for mass murder, persecution or oppression can be held accountable. We owe it to Khashoggi and others.
