Five people sentenced to death for Jamal Khashoggi killing
Saudi Arabia has sentenced five people to death over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October 2018.
The kingdom’s public prosecutor also handed out three people jail terms totalling 24 years over the killing of the journalist.
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Khashoggi was a US resident and vocal critic of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto leader.
His death caused political uproar around the globe, and tarnished the image of bin Salman.
Western governments have since said they believe the crown prince ordered the killing, but Saudi officials have repeatedly denied this.
Khashoggi was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018. He was there to receive papers before his wedding.
His body is believed to have been dismembered and taken from the building – and his remains have not been found.
Eleven Saudi suspects were put on trial over his death in secretive proceedings in Riyadh.
Shalaan al-Shalaan, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor, read out the preliminary verdict in the trial.
He also said Saud al-Qahtani, a former high-profile adviser to the Saudi royals, had been investigated.
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But al-Qahtani was released without charge, as was former deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Asiri.
Al-Shalaan said there was not enough evidence to prosecute al-Asiri over the Khashoggi case.