Saudis distance prince from Khashoggi inquiry
Saudi Arabia’s top prosecutor said the death penalty was being sought against five suspects in the inquiry into the death in Istanbul of dissident Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, distancing the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from the controversy.
Turkey replied by asking for the “real perpetrators” to be exposed.
Chief Saudi prosecutor Saud alMojeb’s decision to seek the death penalty before trial is not unusual in Saudi Arabia.
Facing mounting international pressure, prosecutors also pointed the finger at two men who were part of the crown prince’s inner circle, but stopped short of accusing them of ordering Mr Khashoggi’s death.
The two are instead being accused of ordering Mr Khashoggi’s forced return in an operation the Saudis allege went awry.
In a press conference later yesterday, deputy attorney-general Sheikh Shalan al-Shalan said the October 2 killing was ordered by one man – the individual responsible for the negotiating team sent to forcibly bring Mr Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia.
He did not disclose that individual’s name, but said he was part of a 15-man team sent to Turkey comprised of three groups – negotiators, intelligence and logistics.
He said that on the morning of the killing, the leader of the negotiating team saw that he would not be able to force Mr Khashoggi to return “so he decided to kill him in the moment”.
This appears to contradict a previous Saudi statement quoting Turkish intelligence saying the killing had been premeditated.
Mr al-Shalan said Mr Khashoggi’s killers had set in motion plans for the operation on September 29, three days before his death in Istanbul.
He said the killers drugged and killed the writer inside the consulate, before dismembering the body and handing it over for disposal by an unidentified local collaborator. The body has never been found. The death of Mr Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who had been critical of the crown prince, sent shock waves around the world and led analysts to believe an operation of this magnitude could not have been carried out without the prince’s knowledge.
Hours after the prosecutor’s announcement, Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters the crown prince had “absolutely” nothing to do with the killing.
“His royal highness the crown prince has nothing to do with this issue,” he said.
Mr al-Jubeir said the kingdom is investigating and holding those responsible to account “to make sure this doesn’t happen again”.
“Sometimes mistakes happen... sometimes people exceed their authority,” he said.
The latest Saudi account of what took place failed to appease officials in Turkey, who insist the killing and its cover-up were carried out by the highest levels of government.
“We did not find some of his explanations to be satisfactory,” Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after the Saudi announcement. “Those who gave the order, the real perpetrators, need to be revealed,” he added.
Through a series of orchestrated leaks, including audio of the killing shared with Western intelligence, Turkey has attempted to keep pressure on the crown prince, who sees Turkey as a regional rival.
Saudi Arabia said 21 people are now in custody, with 11 indicted and referred to trial. The Turkish government is demanding the suspects be investigated and tried in Turkey.
Among the high-level officials incriminated in connection with the killing is former deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri, who was fired in the immediate aftermath of the killing. Mr al-Assiri, believed to have been a close confidant of Prince Mohammed, and former royal court adviser Saud al-Qahtani are accused of planning and ordering Mr Khashoggi’s forced return to Saudi Arabia.
However, Saudi prosecutors stopped short of accusing either man of ordering the killing itself, further distancing the killers from the crown prince’s inner circle.