Murder of Jamal Khashoggi: Saudi sentences 5 to death

Former Saudi royal adviser and intelligence official cleared by court

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Monday sentenced five people to death and three more to jail over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year and said the killing was not premeditated, a verdict criticised by a UN investigator as a “mockery” of justice

The court dismissed charges against the remaining three of the 11 people that had been on trial, finding them not guilty, Saudi deputy public prosecutor Shalaan al-shalaan said

Khashoggi was a US resident and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler He was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, where he had gone to obtain documents for his impending wedding His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found

“The investigation showed that the killing was not premeditated The decision was taken at the spur of the moment,” Shalaan said, a position contradicting the findings of a Un-led investigation The Un-led inquiry reported in February that the evidence pointed to “a brutal and premeditated killing, planned and perpetrated” by Saudi officials

Eleven Saudi suspects were put on trial over his death in secretive proceedings in the capital Riyadh

Khashoggi’s murder caused a global uproar, tarnishing the crown prince’s image The CIA and some Western governments have said they believe Prince Mohammed, also known as MBS, ordered the killing

Saudi officials say he had no role, though in September Prince Mohammed for the first time indicated some personal accountability for the murder, saying “it happened under my watch”

Last November the Saudi prosecutor said Saud al-qahtani, a former high-profile Saudi royal adviser, had discussed Khashoggi’s activities before he entered the Saudi consulate with the team which went on to kill him

The prosecutor had said Qahtani acted in coordination with deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-asiri, who he said had ordered Khashoggi’s repatriation from Turkey and that the lead negotiator on the ground then decided to kill him Both men were dismissed from their positions

On Monday Shalaan said Asiri has been tried and released due to insufficient evidence, and Qahtani had been investigated but was not charged and had been released

Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur for extrajudicial summary or arbitrary executions, lambasted the trial verdict as a “mockery” of justice “The hitmen are guilty, sentenced to death The masterminds not only walk free, they have barely been touched by the investigation and the trial,” she said on Twitter

A senior US official said the verdicts were “an important step” in holding those responsible for the crime accountable and encouraged Saudi Arabia to continue with a fair judicial process