Khashoggi case: the trial quietly resumes in Turkey
Jamal Khashoggi at a press conference on December 15, 2014 (Illustrative image).
© MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
An Istanbul court resumes this Thursday, July 8, the trial of 26 people accused of participating in the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate on October 2, 2018. The accused - all of them Saudi - are absent because their country refuses to extradite them.
The Ankara authorities are being very discreet, in the midst of an attempt at reconciliation with Riyadh.
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With our correspondent in Istanbul,
Anne Andlauer
Since its first hearing in July 2020, the trial in Turkey of the alleged killers of Jamal Khashoggi has appeared strangely low-key. The absence of the accused largely explains it, but the discretion is also that of the Ankara authorities. The same people who had orchestrated an international communication campaign in the weeks following the crime, ensuring that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, although never named, was clearly identified as the sponsor.
The Istanbul hearings take place as Turkey attempts to mend its relations with Saudi Arabia.
At the end of April, two weeks before a remarkable visit by the
head of Turkish diplomacy to Riyadh
, President Erdogan's spokesman assured that Ankara "
respected
" the verdict of the Saudi justice, after having strongly criticized it a few months earlier. .
Turkish exports to Riyadh down 90%
Turkish leaders are now refraining from discussing the assassination and publicly pointing fingers at the heir to the Saudi throne.
Because the quarrel comes at a cost: Due to
an unofficial boycott
, Turkey's exports to Saudi Arabia have fallen by more than 90%, and Riyadh authorities have ordered the closure of eight Turkish schools in the country. .
►Also read: Khashoggi affair: Washington asks Riyadh to dismantle the unit responsible for the murder
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Turkey
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