Death penalty sought for journalist’s slaying
U.S. imposes sanctions against 17 Saudi officials
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia will seek the death penalty against five men suspected of killing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, its top prosecutor said Thursday, while the U.S. slapped sanctions on 17 Saudi officials in the toughest action it has taken against the kingdom since the slaying.
The moves failed to appease Turkey, which has put increasing pressure on its regional rival since Khashoggi was killed in Istanbul last month, but they could be enough for some of Saudi Arabia’s Western allies to move on and press for key demands, such as an end to the war in Yemen.
The prosecutor’s announcement sought to quiet the global outcry over Khashoggi’s death and distance the killers and their operation from the kingdom’s leadership, primarily Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Officials and analysts say an operation of this kind could not have happened without the prince’s knowledge.
Pressed by Western journalists in Riyadh on Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat said the crown prince had “absolutely” nothing to do with the slaying of Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who was critical of the heir to the throne.
The Saudi investigation pointed the finger at some members of the crown prince’s inner circle but stopped short of accusing them of ordering the writer’s death. Those closest to the prince are instead accused of ordering Khashoggi’s forced return in an operation at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul that the Saudis allege went awry.
In a news conference, Sheikh Shalan al-shalan, the deputy attorney general, said the killing was ordered by an individual whom he did not identify but said was responsible for negotiating Khashoggi’s return back to Saudi Arabia from Turkey. The individual was part of a 15-man team that was made up of negotiators, intelligence officers and logistics officials.
That team was formed by Saud al-qahtani, who was one of the crown prince’s closest aides, and former deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-assiri, the prosecutor said. Both men were close to the crown prince and fired from their posts after the killing.
They deemed Khashoggi’s presence abroad as “a threat to national security,” the prosecutor said.
Khashoggi had gone for a scheduled visit to the consulate Oct. 2 to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage while his Turkish fiancée waited outside.
Al-shalan said that on that morning, the leader of the negotiating team that confronted Khashoggi inside the consulate saw that he would not be able to force him to return, “so he decided to kill him in the moment.”
This appears to contradict a previous Saudi statement quoting Turkish intelligence as saying the killing had been premeditated — one of several shifting narratives about the case that have come from the kingdom.