Khashoggi's sons urge Saudi authorities to return missing body for burial in Medina

The sons of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi have appealed for Saudi authorities to recover their father's body, amid reports that it may have been destroyed in acid.

Salah and Abdullah Khashoggi made the emotional appeal in a sit-down interview with CNN aired on Monday in the US capital Washington.

"All what we want right now is to bury him in al-Baqi within Medina with the rest of his family," Salah said, referring to a revered cemetery in the Saudi holy city.

"I talked about that with the Saudi authorities and I just hope that it happens soon. I believe the search is ongoing and I'm really hopeful about that. It is an Islamic tradition, it is not only Islamic it is a basic humanitarian issue. We just need to make sure that he rests in peace," he added.

The writer's eldest son also addressed his meeting with the Saudi king and crown prince last month before authorities lifted a travel ban imposed on him.

"In that meeting… the king has stressed that everybody involved will be brought to justice and I have faith in that," Salah said.

But many analysts believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman knew about the political assassination of Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was killed inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul by a team sent from Riyadh on October 2, a murder Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said was ordered from "the highest levels" of Saudi Arabia's government.

Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Erdogan, hinted in an article published on Friday that the body was dismembered and may even have been destroyed in acid.

After weeks of denials, Saudi officials admitted the murder was planned but have so far declined to release details of the whereabouts of the 59-year-old journalist's missing body.

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