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Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Back issues
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Suspects in Khashoggi’s Killing Appear in Saudi Court

Saudi prosecutors will seek the death penalty for at least five people in the slaying of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, the kingdom's state media reported on Thursday as 11 suspects attended their first court hearing.

SDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi prosecutors will seek the death penalty for at least five people in the slaying of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, the kingdom's state media reported on Thursday as 11 suspects attended their first court hearing.

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks on his cellphone at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 29, 2011. Saud Al-Mojeb, Saudi Arabia’s top prosecutor, is recommending the death penalty for five suspects charged with ordering and carrying out the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi. Al-Mojeb told a press conference in Riyadh Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018, that Khashoggi’s killers had been planning the operation since September 29, three days before he was killed inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

The state-run Saudi Press Agency and state television gave few details about the hearing and did not name the suspects.  However, a statement from prosecutors said the suspects attended the hearing with their lawyers.

The statement said that prosecutors sent a request to Turkey for evidence that Ankara has collected in the Oct. 2 slaying of Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

"No response has been received to date and the Public Prosecutor's Office is still waiting for an answer," the statement said.

Officials in Turkey could not immediately be reached for comment. Turkish officials have said they shared evidence with Saudi Arabia and other nations over Khashoggi's killing.

Khashoggi had written columns critical of Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The kingdom initially denied Khashoggi was killed, but changed its story and acknowledged his slaying weeks later.

Turkish media have published pictures of members of the crown prince's entourage at the consulate before the slaying. Khashoggi's body, believed to have been dismembered after his killing, has yet to be found.

Categories / Criminal, International, Politics

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