Saudi Arabia jails eight over Khashoggi murder, fiancée decries trial

A Saudi Arabian court on Monday jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years for the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, state media reported, four months after his family forgave his killers and enabled death sentences to be set aside.

The trial was criticised by a UN official and human rights campaigners who said the masterminds of the murder remained free.

Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 2018, where he had gone to obtain documents for his impending wedding.

His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found.

The murder caused a global uproar and tarnished the reformist image of Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de facto ruler and son of King Salman.

State media reported that five people were handed 20-year prison sentences, one person was sentenced to 10 years and two people received seven-year sentences for the killing.

None of the defendants was named.

The Khashoggi family’s lawyer, Motasem Khashoggi, said the family welcomed the “fair and deterrent” ruling and was satisfied by it.

“We as a family opted for applying Sharia laws since the beginning and there is no court in the world that applies sharia rules like in Saudi Arabia,” Khashoggi told Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper.

“We have delegated our command to God and to our rulers,," he added.

But Khashoggi's fiancée said the eight jailed were not the only ones responsible for the murder.

“Saudi authorities are closing the case without the world knowing the truth of who is responsible ... Who planned it, who ordered it, where is his body?”

In December, the court sentenced five people to death and three to jail, saying the killing was not premeditated but carried out on “the spur of the moment”.

Some Western governments, as well as the CIA, had said previously they believed Prince Mohammed had ordered the killing.

Saudi officials denied he played a role, though the prince in September 2019 indicated some personal accountability, saying that “it happened under my watch”.

In May, the family of the slain journalist said it forgave his murderers, paving the way for a reprieve for the five defendants sentenced to death.

In Saudi Arabia, which lacks a codified legal system and follows Islamic law, forgiveness from a victim’s family in such cases can allow for a formal pardon and a stay of execution.

Many Saudis hailed Monday’s ruling in comments on Twitter, a platform favoured by pro-government supporters.

Adam Coogle, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, said the conviction of individuals “does not hide the fact that the Saudi legal process has shielded top officials from any and all scrutiny”.

Turkey, which launched its own trial against 20 Saudi officials in July, said the verdict in Saudi Arabia fell short of expectations. — Reuters