ZCZC
BFF-24
SAUDI-KHASHOGGI-CRIME
Saudi court sentences five to death over Khashoggi murder
RIYADH, Dec 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Five people have been sentenced to death
over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but two top figures
investigated over the killing have been exonerated, Saudi Arabia’s public
prosecutor said Monday.
“The court issued death sentences on five men who directly took part in
the killing,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
Saudi prosecutors had said deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri
oversaw the Washington Post columnist’s killing in the kingdom’s Istanbul
consulate in October 2018 and that he was advised by the royal court’s media
czar Saud al-Qahtani.
However, Qahtani was investigated but not indicted “due to insufficient
evidence” and Assiri was investigated and charged but eventually acquitted on
the same grounds, the statement said.
Of the 11 unnamed individuals indicted in the case, five were sentenced to
death, three face jail terms totalling 24 years, and the others were
acquitted.
The prosecutor said that the Riyadh court hearing the case held a total of
nine sessions attended by representatives of the international community as
well as Khashoggi’s relatives.
“We found that Khashoggi’s murder was not premeditated,” the statement
said.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1619 hrs