Trial over killing of Khashoggi goes to Saudi Arabia
A TURKISH court has suspended the trial in absentia of 26 Saudis accused of the gruesome killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, inset, and said the case should be transferred to Saudi Arabia.
The decision comes despite warnings from human rights groups that turning the case over to the kingdom would lead to a cover up of the killing which has cast suspicion on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
It also comes as Turkey, which is facing an economic downturn, has been trying to repair its troubled relationship with Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region.
Some media reports have claimed that Riyadh has made improved relations conditional on Turkey dropping the case against the Saudis.
Mr Khashoggi, who wrote critically about Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, disappeared on October 2 2018 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, seeking documents that would allow him to marry his Turkish fiancee. He never emerged.
Last week, a prosecutor recommended that the case be transferred to the kingdom, arguing that the trial in Turkey would remain inconclusive.
Turkey’s justice minister supported the recommendation, adding that the trial in Turkey would resume if the Turkish court is not satisfied with the outcome of proceedings in Saudi Arabia. It was not clear however if Saudi Arabia, which has already put some of the defendants on trial behind closed doors, would open a new trial. Human rights advocates had urged Turkey not to transfer the case.
“By transferring the case of a murder that was committed on its territory, Turkey will be knowingly and willingly sending the case back into the hands of those who bear its responsibility,” said Amnesty International’s secretary general Agnes Callamard. “Indeed, the Saudi system has repeatedly failed to cooperate with the Turkish prosecutor and it is clear that justice cannot be delivered by a Saudi court. What has happened to Turkey’s declared commitment that justice must prevail for this gruesome murder and that this case would never become a pawn in political calculations and interest?” she asked.
Turkish officials allege that Mr Khashoggi was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw inside the consulate by a team of Saudi agents sent to Istanbul.