Khashoggi murder trial opens in Riyadh

announced that it would be pursuing the case in its own legal system.

Five people said to be ‘‘directly involved’’ in the murder are facing the death penalty.

Lawyers for the defendants were present in court yesterday where, according to state media reports, a request from the 11 for more time to prepare their defence was approved.

No date was given for the next hearing.

In a statement released to the state-controlled Saudi Press Agency, the prosecutor said that the kingdom had written to the government of Turkey asking for evidence connected to the case.

‘‘To date, the Saudi public prosecutor has not received any response, and the public prosecution is still awaiting their response,’’ the statement said.

Khashoggi, 59, a journalist who had openly criticised Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 33, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The Turkish government is adamant that the case cannot be heard properly in Saudi Arabia, where MBS, as he is commonly known, continues to wield huge power despite a reshuffle of the cabinet last week. Turkey has said it wants the United Nations to conduct an investigation into the killing but has not yet submitted a formal request.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose own relationship with MBS has grown increasingly strained since the young Saudi prince was anointed heir to the throne in June 2017, has tried to leverage the killing to boost his own standing in the Islamic world.

Khashoggi was close to Erdogan and his circle and was in the process of relocating to Istanbul when he was killed.

The Turkish president had hoped to persuade King Salman, the Saudi monarch, to sideline his son after the killing.

However, Erdogan’s plans were derailed by United States President Donald Trump, whose son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has forged a close relationship with the Saudi crown prince.

Trump has made clear that he will not sever Washington’s ties with Riyadh over the Khashoggi scandal, reinforcing the crown prince’s position within the Saudi palace.

With the commencement of the trial, Ankara has resumed its dripfeed of leaks about the killing to Turkey’s pro-Erdogan media.

This week security footage was released purportedly showing Khashoggi’s remains being wheeled in suitcases into the residence of the Saudi consul-general.

The body is yet to be found but in the three months since his killing, a range of gruesome theories have been suggested in Turkish media.

It is believed that his body was dissected with a bone saw within minutes of him entering the consulate on October 2.

Police have since followed leads that he was buried in woodland, or dissolved in acid and dumped in a well.

Among the suspects is Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy, a forensic science expert who was part of an alleged hit squad that flew into Istanbul from Saudi Arabia on the morning Khashoggi was killed.

Tubaigy, whose published works include essays on mobile autopsies and dissection, is thought to have completed a master’s degree in forensic medicine at Glasgow University in 2004.

The university has said that it is unable to comment. – The Times