Five sentenced to death and three others to prison for murdering the Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, on Monday. Jamal Khashoggi was killed last year in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, also a columnist for the Washington Post, was murdered inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul last year. The Saudi Prince was criticized in the international arena as certain Saudi agents involved in the murder have been working right under him.
Accusations against the two top royal aides, Saud al-Qahtani and Ahmed Asiri, were dismissed due to the lack of substantial evidence. Saudi Deputy Public Prosecutor and Spokesman, Shalaan al Shalaan, said, “the investigation showed the killing was not intentional and the decision was taken at the spur of the moment,” a position which stands in contradiction with the UN report, which stated that the killing was premeditated.
The UN Special Rapporteur, who investigated the murder Ms. Agnes Callamard, stated that the trial was “the antithesis of justice.” The crown prince saw international furore and criticism over this and has repeatedly denied any involvement in or sanctioning the murder, the CIA analysts and political analysts opined that the killing could not have transpired without the knowledge of the prince.
Khashoggi visited the Saudi consulate in Turkey on October 2, 2018, to obtain documents that he needed to marry his fiancée Ms. Cengiz, but he never came out of the consulate.