Saudis reject demand to turn over those tied to killing

Turkey requesting extradition of men linked to Khashoggi murder

Saudi Arabia will not extradite suspects in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate, the Saudi foreign minister said.

“The individuals are Saudi nationals, they are detained in Saudi Arabia, the investigation is in Saudi Arabia,” Adel al-Jubeir said Saturday at the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain. “They will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the kingdom to extradite the suspects Turkish investigators have identified in Khashoggi’s murder as a sign of goodwill. Istanbul’s chief prosecutor has prepared a request for the extradition, Anadolu Agency reported.

The U.S. has already revoked visas for suspects in the killing and will be taking additional measures as the situation is clarifies, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said in an earlier address at the same conference.

“The United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence,” he said. “Failure of any one nation to adhere to international norms and the rule of law undermines regional stability when it is needed the most.”

Saudi Arabia, which had initially said the Washington Post columnist left the consulate alive, came closer Thursday to acknowledging that his murder was premeditated, as international pressure piles on the kingdom to hold the culprits to account and help locate his body.

Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policies, was last seen Oct. 2 entering the consulate, where he had gone to pick up a document he needed to remarry.