Saudi opens trial in Khashoggi killing

Saudi Arabia’s public prosecution yesterday sought death penalty for five of the 11 defendants charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as their trial opened in Riyadh yesterday. All 11 accused appeared in court with their lawyers, five of whom are accused of involvement in the killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, a statement released said. The names of the 11 defendants have not been officially released.

It was earlier announced that five top officials in Saudi Arabia were sacked over the Khashoggi murder inside its Istanbul consulate on October 2 in a “rogue operation”. A statement said prosecutors have requested twice formally to the Turkish authorities seeking evidence related to the killing of Khashoggi “but have not received any response so far”. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has also called on Turkey to come forward with all its evidence about the slaying and stop leaking out information. “We have made that very clear.

We have investigations ongoing and we will punish the individuals who are responsible for this,” he said. Following yesterday’s trial, the defence team in the case requested a copy of the legal document and a timeframe within which to review the charges. Prosecutors in a statement said they are continuing their investigation against a number of accused in the killing. According to an earlier statement by public prosecutor’s office, a total of 21 individuals were in custody in connection with the killing.

Following the move, The United States and France have welcomed the first indictments in the Saudi probe into the murder of Jamal Khashoggi as a “good first step.”