Saudi sentences five to death, three to jail over Khashoggi murder

[December 23, 2019]  By Marwa Rashad

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia on Monday sentenced five people to death and three more to jail terms totaling 24 years over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October last year.

Saudi Deputy Public Prosecutor and spokesman Shalaan al-Shalaan, reading out the verdict in the trial, said the court dismissed charges against the remaining three of the 11 people that had been on trial, finding them not guilty.

"The investigation showed that the killing was not premeditated ... The decision was taken at the spur of the moment," Shalaan said.

Khashoggi was a U.S. 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 Oct. 2, 2018, where he had gone to receive papers ahead of his wedding. His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found.

The killing caused a global uproar, tarnishing the crown prince's image. The CIA and some Western governments have said they believe Prince Mohammed ordered the killing, but Saudi officials say he had no role. Eleven Saudi suspects were put on trial over his death in secretive proceedings in Riyadh.

TWO SENIOR FIGURES FREED AFTER PROBE

Last November the Saudi prosecutor said that 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 but while Asiri went on trial, Qahtani did not.

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.

Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi speaks at an event hosted by Middle East Monitor in London, Britain, September 29, 2018. Picture taken September 29, 2018. Middle East Monitor/Handout via REUTERS

Shalaan said that when the team saw that it would be impossible to transfer Khashoggi to a safe place to continue negotiating, they decided to kill him.

"It was agreed, in consultation between the head of the negotiating team and the culprits, to kill Jamal Khashoggi inside the consulate," Shalaan said in response to questions from journalists.

He also said the Saudi consul-general to Turkey at the time, Mohammed al-Otaibi, had been freed after Turkish witnesses said Otaibi had been with them on the day of the crime. Two weeks ago, the United States barred Otaibi from entering the country.

In the investigation into the murder, 21 people were arrested and 10 called in for questioning without arrest, according to Shalaan.

Riyadh's criminal court pronounced the death penalty on five defendants, whose names have not yet been released, "for committing and directly participating in the murder of the victim".

The three sentenced to prison were given various sentences totaling 24 years "for their role in covering up this crime and violating the law".

Shalaan added the investigations proved there was no "prior enmity" between those convicted and Khashoggi.

The verdicts can still be appealed.

(Reporting by Marwa Rashed in Riyadh with; additional reporting by Nafisa Eltahir and Maha El Dahan in Dubai; Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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