A Saudi court on Monday (Sept. 7) sentenced eight people to prison for the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
On Monday, five people were sentenced to 20 years in prison, while three others were sentenced to between seven and 10 years in prison, official media reported.
Khashoggi, a U.S. resident, went to the Saudi consulate in Turkey in 2018 to obtain documents allowing him to marry Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish national. While Cengiz was waiting outside the consulate, Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, sparking global outrage.
The journalist writing the column for The Washington Post is known for his criticism of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
None of the defendants in the case have been named.
Twenty other men are on trial in Turkey for Khashoggi’s murder, but Riyadh has repeatedly refused requests for their extradition.
Early in the trial, Saudi Arabia sentenced five of the defendants to death, but Khashoggi’s family said they forgave the killers, thus allowing the men to be spared the death penalty.
Critics, including Khashoggi’s fiancée, decried the slow and secretive nature of the trial.
“The verdict handed down today by Saudi Arabia is another complete mockery of justice. Saudi authorities are closing the case without the world knowing the truth about who is responsible for Jamal’s murder,” Janjitz wrote in a statement posted on Twitter.
Saudi Arabia gave conflicting accounts of Khashoggi’s disappearance, ultimately claiming that he was killed because of the actions of unauthorized agents.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency concluded that it was “moderately to highly confident” that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed ordered Khashoggi’s death. The Saudi crown prince has denied his involvement in the killing.
Khashoggi’s body has not been found. Turkish and Saudi prosecutors allege that Saudi agents dismembered his body after he was killed.
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