Murder of Jamal Khashoggi: Saudi final verdict overturns five death sentences
Journalist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancée, during the trial in absentia of 20 Saudi suspects for the murder of the Saudi journalist, July 3, 2020 in Istanbul.
(illustration photo) Ozan KOSE / AFP
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3 min
A Saudi court on Monday, September 7, overturned the five death sentences handed down in December 2019 for the murder of journalist critical of power Jamal Khashoggi.
In this final verdict, the eight accused of the crime are finally sentenced to terms ranging from seven to 20 years in prison, according to the official SPA agency.
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While they were
sentenced to the death penalty in December 2019
, "
five defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison and three others to terms ranging from seven to ten years in prison
", the news agency said. , citing the services of the Attorney General.
The last three had already been sentenced to prison.
This latest judgment, described as the final verdict, comes after
Jamal Khashoggi's sons announced in May that they had "
forgiven
" his killers
.
Those convicted have not been identified.
Collaborator of the
Washington Post
and critic of the Saudi regime, having been close Jamal Khashoggi was murdered and his body cut into pieces in October 2018 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to retrieve a document .
He was 59 years old at the time of his death and his remains have never been found.
This murder plunged Saudi Arabia into one of its worst diplomatic crises and tarnished the image of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Nicknamed "
MBS
", he had been
named by Turkish and American officials as the real sponsor
of the murder.
Opaque trial, with the verdict criticized by NGOs
After denying the assassination, then advancing several versions of the facts, Riyadh claimed that it was committed by Saudi agents who allegedly acted alone and without receiving orders from their leaders.
Saudi justice has itself seized the case.
After an opaque trial, five Saudis were sentenced to death and three others to prison terms for the assassination, out of a total of 11 people charged.
The other three had been "
cleared
".
This verdict, delivered in December 2019, had been criticized by international human rights organizations.
Lawsuit in Turkey
In addition, the
Turkish justice
system began in early July
to try in absentia 20 Saudis
, including two relatives of the crown prince, the former adviser Saoud al-Qahtani and the former number two of the intelligence, the general Ahmed al-Assiri.
They had been identified as the sponsors of the murder.
The first was investigated in Saudi Arabia but was not charged "
due to insufficient evidence
" and the second, indicted, was acquitted on the same grounds, according to the Saudi prosecution.
The two men were officially ousted from the political circle of the Crown Prince.
(With AFP)
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