Journalist Jamal Khashoggi (archive)

  • Khashoggi's girlfriend speaks: Jamal wanted democracy in Saudi Arabia

  • Strazzari: Khashoggi is a leading figure in the opposition to Prince Salman

  • Khashoggi, Saudi Minister Al-Jubeir: the murder was "never authorized error" by the government

  • Jamal Khashoggi, the commemoration one year after the murder of the Saudi journalist

  • UN: Report on Khashoggi murder, Saudi Arabia responsible

  • "I can't breathe" Khashoggi's last words before he died

Share

December 23, 2019 Five people were sentenced to death by the Riyadh Court for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which took place inside the consulate from Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2018. The Saudi Prosecutor also announced that three other people were sentenced to 24 years in prison for trying to "cover up the crime".

All convicts can appeal -



Saud al-Qahtani, believed to be the personal assistant and former head of social media communication of the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Salman, has not been indicted, the Riyadh prosecutor's office announced.

According to investigations conducted by UN experts, there was instead "credible evidence" of individual responsibilities of the prince and his adviser.



The Tribunal also found Mohammed al-Otaibi, the Saudi Consul General in Istanbul at the material time, not guilty.

The diplomat was released from prison after the verdicts were announced, state TV reports.



The trial of the accused was conducted behind closed doors, in almost total secrecy and, according to Human Rights Watch, did not meet international standards.

Only a few diplomats, including Turks, and members of the Khashoggi family had been allowed to attend the hearings, nine in all, which established the unintentional killing for the five death row inmates, official Saudi TV said.

"We concluded that Khashoggi's murder was not foreseen," reads the statement from the Prosecutor's Office. 



He has not left

one that led to the death of Khashoggi, whose body has never been found, has been defined by the Saudi prosecutor as a '' rogue operation ''.

Jamal Khashoggi had entered his country's Consulate in Istanbul on the morning of 2 October 2018 to obtain the documents to marry his Turkish girlfriend, Hatice Cengiz, who had been waiting for him outside.



The murder of the Saudi journalist caused a sensation around the world and led to the unanimous condemnation of the international community, including the United Nations, and of American President Donald Trump. 



The announcement of the conviction was also posted on the English-language Twitter account of the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry


The Public Prosecutor: Capital punishment for (5) individuals for committing and directly participating in the murder of citizen Jamal Khashoggi.

pic.twitter.com/96VJTgz8TE

- Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) December 23, 2019