Saudi Arabia says five sentenced to death in killing of Jamal Khashoggi
Last edited Mon Dec 23, 2019, 07:38 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: Washington Post
ISTANBUL — Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor announced on Monday that five people have been sentenced to death in connection with the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year. But the two most senior officials implicated in the case were cleared of wrongdoing because of "insufficient evidence," the prosecutor said. The slaying of Khashoggi in October 2018 sparked a global outcry against Saudi Arabia and led to greater scrutiny of a crackdown on dissent pursued by Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s young crown prince.
Khashoggi, who contributed columns to The Washington Post, had been one of Mohammed’s most prominent critics.Khashoggi was killed soon after he visited the Saudi Consulate to obtain documents that would allow him to remarry. After he was killed, by a team of agents who had flown to Istanbul from Saudi Arabia, Khashoggi’s body was dismembered, according to Turkish and Saudi prosecutors. His remains have not been found.
Turkish officials insisted that the murder was preplanned. On Monday, Shalaan al-Shalaan, the spokesman for the Saudi public prosecutor, said an investigation showed “there was no prior intention to kill at the start of this mission.” The CIA concluded last year that the crown prince had ordered Khashoggi’s assassination, contradicting Saudi Arabia’s insistence that Mohammed had no knowledge of the plot.
The verdicts came after a trial in Riyadh’s criminal court that lasted nearly a year and was largely shrouded in secrecy, with court sessions closed to the general public. Diplomats from the United States, Turkey and several other countries were allowed to attend but told not to reveal details of the trial. Members of Khashoggi’s family also attended, Shalaan said.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/saudi-arabia-says-five-sentenced-to-death-in-killing-of-jamal-khashoggi/2019/12/23/02fc0ea4-256a-11ea-9cc9-e19cfbc87e51_story.html
Original article and headline -
By Washington Post Staff
Dec. 23, 2019 at 4:58 a.m. EST
The country’s top prosecutor said three more people were sentenced to jail terms totaling 24 years. Saud al-Qahtani, an aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the most senior official implicated in the plot to kill Khashoggi, was investigated but cleared of wrongdoing.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2019/12/23/saudi-arabia-sentences-five-to-death-for-killing-journalist-jamal-khashoggi-inside-turkish-consulate/
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