Saudi reporter Jama Khashoggi went missing after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Riyadh has arrested 21 Saudis as part of an investigation into the murder and is seeking the death penalty for five suspects.
Death Penalty for Five Suspects
Saud al-Mojeb, Saudi Arabia’s Attorney General, demanded the death penalty for five defendants accused in the case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
“The Prosecutor General’s Office demanded to execute those who ordered and committed the murder — there are five of them,” the SPA state news agency quoted the prosecutor’s statement.
Speaking at a press conference in Riyadh, the kingdom’s top prosecutor said that 21 people had been detained in the Khashoggi murder case and that 11 suspects had been charged.
According to al-Mojeb, General Ahmed al-Assiri, the former Saudi deputy intelligence chief fired in October, was the highest-level figure behind the killing. He ostensibly ordered a “negotiating team” to return Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, while the head of the team had given the order to kill the journalist in case the operation to convince Khashoggi to return failed.
Khashoggi died after being drugged and his body was dismembered; its whereabouts remain unknown despite an ongoing search, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said. The prosecutor insisted that Crown Prince bin Salman was not implicated in the murder, echoing previous denials of the royal family’s involvement.
Saudi Arabia also asked Turkey to seal a deal on cooperation on the Khashoggi probe.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu praised al-Mojeb’s statement but said that is was “insufficient.” He went on to say that those who ordered and carried out the killing need to be uncovered and insisted that Khashoggi murder was “premeditated.” Cavusoglu also repeated Turkey’s demand that the 15-man squad allegedly involved in Khashoggi’s killing should stand trial in Turkey.
Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi reporter and Washington Times contributor, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain marriage documents. According to the Istanbul prosecutor, he was strangled to death and dismembered shortly after entering the consulate. Saudi authorities have insisted that the killing of the columnist was a “rogue operation”. Last month, Riyadh announced that 18 suspects, including security officials, had been arrested as part of a probe into the Khashoggi affair.