Saudis reject extraditions over Khashoggi murder

The Saudi Foreign Minister said the kingdom would not extradite suspects connected to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Adel Al Jubeir said on Sunday that the kingdom rejected Turkey’s demands to deport Saudi nationals, including intelligence chief Ahmad Al Assiri and the former adviser to the royal court, Saud Al Qahtani.

Last week a Turkish court issued arrest warrants for the two men at the request of Istanbul’s chief prosecutor. Both were sacked after Riyadh admitted Khashoggi had been killed in its consulate.

“We do not extradite citizens,” Mr Al Jubeir said in Riyadh at the end of the GCC summit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly called on Saudi Arabia to hand over suspects in the murder of the dissident journalist.

Khashoggi, a Saudi contributor to The Washington Post, was killed shortly after entering the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

“The Turkish authorities have not been as forthcoming as we believe they should have been,” said Mr Al Jubeir, who claimed that Riyadh was presented with information that had already been leaked to the media. We have asked our friends in Turkey to provide us with evidence that we can use in a court of law. We have not received it in the manner that it should have been received.”

Mr Erdogan said the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest levels of the Saudi government, a claim Riyadh and its Gulf allies have denied.

Mr Al Assiri often attended Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s closed-door meetings with foreign dignitaries and Mr Al Qahtani was a key counsellor to the crown prince.

Mr Al Qahtani was one of 17 Saudi officials hit by US Treasury Department sanctions last month for “his role in preparing for the operation” against the journalist.

Last week a Turkish court issued arrest warrants for two Saudi officials