Saudi court sentences five to death over Khashoggi killing
December 23, 2019
The UN, along with a number of states, have questioned whether the investigation was thorough enough. Three others received lengthy prison sentences, in addition to those given the death penalty.
Image: imago/IP3press/A. Morissard
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Saudi Arabia's chief prosecutor said on Monday that five people received death sentences for their role in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
Three others were handed lengthy sentences amounting to 24 years in jail, reported Saudi Arabia's state run Al-Ekhbariya TV channel, and two other top officials escaped sentencing.
"The court issued death sentences on five men who directly took part in the killing," Shalaan al-Shalaan, Saudi deputy public prosecutor and spokesman, said in a statement after the trial that lasted for nine sessions and was held in near total secrecy.
Agnes Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur for extrajudicial executions, told DW she has identified many shortcomings with the trial.
"The chain of command was not investigated, and nobody above the hit men has been charged and has been prosecuted," she said on Monday.
She also said the trial "did not deliver justice" and it was "held behind closed doors, even though there was no reason under international law for holding such a trial behind closed doors".
There was no breakdown of how the total amount of jail time was divided and the identity of those receiving sentences will be kept a secret. All of those charged will have the opportunity to appeal their sentences.
Those receiving jail terms were convicted "for their role in covering up this crime and violating the law," said Shalaan. Those charged were found not to have premeditated the murder.
Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death
Official Saudi statements on the fate of journalist Jamal Khashoggi have changed several times since he disappeared at the Istanbul consulate on October 2. DW traces the most important events in this intricate case.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Martin
Vanishes into thin air
October 2: Prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to obtain an official document for his upcoming marriage to his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz. He never emerged from the building, prompting Cengiz, who waited outside, to raise the alarm.
Image: Reuters TV
Confusion over whereabouts
October 3: Turkish and Saudi officials came up with conflicting reports on Khashoggi's whereabouts. Riyadh said the journalist had left the mission shortly after his work was done. But Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the journalist was still in the consulate.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. Mayo
Murder claims
October 6: Turkish officials said they believed the journalist was likely killed inside the Saudi consulate. The Washington Post, for which Khashoggi wrote, cited unnamed sources to report that Turkish investigators believe a 15-member team "came from Saudi Arabia" to kill the man.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Jamali
Ankara seeks proof
October 8: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Saudi Arabia to prove that Khashoggi left its consulate in Istanbul. Turkey also sought permission to search the mission premises. US President Donald Trump voiced concern about the journalist's disappearance.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/T. Kovacs
'Davos in the Desert' hit
October 12: British billionaire Richard Branson halted talks over a $1 billion Saudi investment in his Virgin group's space ventures, citing Khashoggi's case. He also pulled out of an investment conference in Riyadh dubbed the "Davos in the Desert." His move was followed by Uber's Dara Khosrowshahi, JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon and a host of other business leaders.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Search operation
October 15: Turkish investigators searched the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The search lasted more than eight hours and investigators removed samples from the building, including soil from the consulate garden and a metal door, one official said.
Image: Reuters/M. Sezer
Death after fistfight
October 19: Saudi Arabia finally admitted that Khashoggi died at the consulate. The kingdom's public prosecutor said preliminary investigations showed the journalist was killed in a "fistfight." He added that 18 people had been detained. A Saudi Foreign Ministry official said the country is "investigating the regrettable and painful incident."
Image: Getty Images/C. McGrath
'Grave mistake'
October 21: Saudi Arabia provided yet another account of what happened to Khashoggi. The kingdom's foreign minister admitted the journalist was killed in a "rogue operation," calling it a "huge and grave mistake," but insisted that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had not been aware of the murder. Riyadh said it had no idea where Khashoggi's body was.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/C. Owen
Germany halts arms sales
October 21: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would put arms exports to Saudi Arabia on hold for the time being, given the unexplained circumstances of Khashoggi's death. Germany is the fourth largest exporter of weapons to Saudi Arabia after the United States, Britain and France.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Sauer
Strangled to death, dissolved in acid
October 31: The Turkish prosecutor concluded that Khashoggi was strangled to death soon after entering the consulate, and was then dismembered. Another Turkish official later claimed the body was dissolved in acid. Turkish President Erdogan said the order to murder the journalist came from "the highest levels" of Saudi Arabia's government.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/M. E. Yildirim
Grilled at the UN
November 5: Saudi Arabia told the United Nations it would prosecute those responsible for Khashoggi's murder. This came as the United States and dozens of other countries raised the journalist's death before the UN Human Rights Council and called for a transparent investigation.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Coffrini
Fiancee in mourning
November 8: Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, wrote on Twitter that she was "unable to express her sorrow" upon learning that the journalist's body was dissolved with chemicals. "Are these killers and those behind it human beings?" she tweeted.
Image: Reuters/Haberturk
Turkey shares audio recordings
November 10: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reveals that officials from Saudi Arabia, the US, Germany, France and Britain have listened to audio recordings related to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Presidential Press Service
Symbolic funeral prayers
November 16: A symbolic funeral prayer for Khashoggi is held in the courtyard of the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul. Yasin Aktay, advisor to President Erdogan, speaks at the service.
Image: Reuters/M. Sezer
Saudi-owned villas searched
November 26: Turkish forensic police bring the investigation to the Turkish province of Yalova, where sniffer dogs and drones search two Saudi-owned villas in the village Samanli.
Image: Reuters/O . Orsal
100 days since killing
January 10: Amnesty International Turkey members demonstrate outside the Saudi Arabia Consulate in Istanbul, marking 100 day since the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. One woman holds up a street sign which reads "Jamal Khashoggi Street". The organization has called for an international investigation into the case.
Image: Reuters/M. Sezer
Saudi murder trial begins
January 3: The Khashoggi trial begins in Saudi Arabia, where state prosecutors say they will seek the death sentence for five of the eleven suspects. A request for the gathered evidence has been send to Turkish authorities. A date for the second hearing has not yet been set.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/Depo Photos
UN inquiry team in Turkey
January 28: Agnes Callamard, who is leading the UN probe into the handling of the Khashoggi case, arrives in Ankara where she meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The human rights expect will stay in the country for the rest of the week to speak with prosecutors and others involved in the case.
A former top adviser to Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Saud al-Qahtani, was released but not charged, said the prosecutor. His release came despite the US sanctioning the adviser and 17 others for their roles in the operation.
Despite condemning the killing, President Donald Trump has stood by the 34-year-old crown prince.
Meanwhile, the US State Department welcomed the death sentences issued to the five alleged perpetrators. "Today's verdicts were an important step in holding those responsible for this terrible crime accountable," an official told reporters after the ruling.
Another top official, Mohammed al-Otaibi, was also found not guilty. The Saudi consul-general in Istanbul at the time was released from prison after the verdict was announced.
The trial was held in top secret, with only a handful of diplomats — including those from Turkey — allowed to attend along with members of Khashoggi's family. During the investigation into the murder, 21 people were arrested and a further 10 were questioned without arrest.
Callamard said she believes there is little to no chance that those suspected of ordering the killing, including Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, will be tried.
Saudi Arabia denies responsibility
The Saudi Arabian government drew international criticism at the time of the murder as it involved several agents who worked directly for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Many believe the Saudi Arabian government was directly involved the killing of the journalist.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the verdict as "scandalous," coming as it did "after months of secret hearings."
However, the crown prince and the kingdom have denied any direct connection to the brutal killing.
After the murder, the Saudi Arabian government told the UN that it would ensure it would bring the perpetrators to justice.
Following Monday's verdict, the Secretary General of the UN Antonio Guterres "continues to stress the need for an independent and impartial investigation into the murder to ensure full examination of and accountability for human rights violations committed in the case," according to Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief.
Guterres "also reiterates the UN's commitment to ensuring freedom of expression and protection of journalists as well as our long-standing opposition to the death penalty," Dujarric added.
