Saudi royal adviser in Khashoggi trial no-show

WASHINGTON: Two top Saudi royal advisers have been linked to journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. One has been labelled the “ringleader” but questions are swirling over the absence of the other in the closed-door trial of 11 suspects, multiple sources said.

Saudi prosecutors have said deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri oversaw the Washington Post columnist’s killing in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate last October and that he was advised by the royal court’s media czar Saud al-Qahtani.

Both aides were part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s tight-knit inner circle and have formally been sacked over the killing but only Assiri has appeared in the five court hearings since January, according to four Western officials privy to the information.

“Qahtani is not among the 11 facing trial,” one of the officials said.

“What does his absence mean? Are the Saudis keen to protect him or discipline him separately? No one knows.”

The kingdom’s public prosecutor last November indicted 11 unnamed suspects, including five who could face the death penalty over the murder.

Diplomats from the UN Security Council’s permanent members – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia – as well as Turkey are allowed to attend as observers of the legal proceedings that are held entirely in Arabic.

They are not allowed to bring interpreters and are usually summoned at short notice, the sources said. — AFP