• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
No Result
View All Result
1
Home World

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

23 December 2019, 2:26 PM  |
Reuters Reuters |  @SABCNews
Jamal Khashoggi was a United States resident and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler.

Jamal Khashoggi was a United States resident and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler.

Image: Reuters

Jamal Khashoggi was a United States resident and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler.

Saudi Arabia on Monday sentenced five people to death and three more to jail terms totalling 24 years over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October 2018. Saudi Deputy Public Prosecutor and spokesperson 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 United States 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 2 October 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

In November 2018 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.

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 US barred Otaibi from entering the country.

In the investigation into the murder, 21 people were arrested and ten 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 totalling 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.

Share article
Tags: Jamal KhashoggiMohammed bin SalmanSaudi Arabia
Previous Post

England ponder all-pace attack for first test v South Africa

Next Post

North West seeks to counter retrenchments in the mining sector

Related Posts

File image of US dollars.

Congressional vote on raising the US Debt Ceiling could come as early as Wednesday

30 May 2023, 7:04 PM
Ukrainian soldiers wave from their tank, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in the village of Kolychivka, outside Chernihiv, Ukraine, April 5, 2022.

Russia’s Lavrov accuses West of ‘supporting genocide’ in Ukraine

30 May 2023, 3:41 PM
FILE PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference

Kremlin says Russia will take part in BRICS summit at ‘proper level’

30 May 2023, 12:11 PM
A firefighter walks near cars damaged during a massive Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 30, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko REFILE - CORRECTING INFORMATION

Ukraine peace plan is only way to end Russia’s war, says Zelenskyy aide

30 May 2023, 6:14 AM
Türkiye President Tayyip Erdogan

Türkiye’s Erdogan triumphs in election test, extending 20-year rule

29 May 2023, 3:06 PM
Firefighters extinguish a burning cargo trailer damaged during a massive Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine

Explosions rock Kyiv after new air-raid warning

29 May 2023, 10:57 AM
Next Post
Over the past few years, various mining companies have retrenched thousands of their employees as they either close some of the old shafts or embark on restructuring processes.

North West seeks to counter retrenchments in the mining sector

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • DENOSA defends nurses for placing newborns in boxes
  • Limpopo teacher writes a book which simplifies Maths
  • Scientist finds solution to extending life of power plants’ rotors
  • North West Health probes why newborn babies were placed in boxes
  • Durban’s N2 road, Spaghetti Junction closed due to cleanup operations
  • Dr Nandipha’s looks during court appearances under the spotlight
  • Experts raise caution over Prime energy drink craze
  • Dr Nandipha Magudumana, co-accused in Thabo Bester’s escape to apply for bail
  • Reserve Bank expected to increase repo rate on Thursday
  • Petrol price up, diesel down from midnight
  • Durban’s N2 road, Spaghetti Junction closed due to cleanup operations
  • Limpopo healthcare set to get massive boost with multi-billion rand hospital
  • Five children die in road crash in Mitchell’s Plain: Police
  • Civil organisations say government losing control over illegal immigration
  • Hawks nab former Northern Cape finance MEC John Block

LATEST

A man is pictured refilling bottles from a water tanker.
  • Cholera outbreak
  • South Africa

Cholera outbreak under control in Free State: Health MEC


A petrol station in Abuja, Nigeria March 19, 2020.
  • Africa

Nigerians panic buy fuel after Tinubu says subsidy to go


File image of US dollars.
  • World

Congressional vote on raising the US Debt Ceiling could come as early as Wednesday


SAA planes seen parked at an airport
  • Business

SAA will not collapse even if Takatso Consortium deal doesn’t go through: Hanekom


[FILE IMAGE] Ukrainian service members ride a tank, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the front line city of Bakhmut, Ukraine April 10, 2023.
  • South Africa

SA obliged to denounce war crimes in Russia-Ukraine conflict: Expert


A healthcare worker treats water with a solution to kill bacteria found in contaminated water
  • South Africa

“North West cholera cases”, actually fall under Gauteng: North West Health


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2023

Previous England ponder all-pace attack for first test v South Africa
Next North West seeks to counter retrenchments in the mining sector