Saudi prosecutors opened the trial for eleven suspects in the October murder of Jamal Khashoggi on Thursday by seeking the death penalty for five of the defendants and complaining about Turkey’s refusal to hand over evidence in the case, presumably because Turkey wants the defendants extradited to face trial there.
Saudi prosecutors said Khashoggi was killed at the Istanbul consulate with an overdose of sedatives and then dismembered so a Turkish collaborator could dispose of his body. The Saudi government has portrayed Khashoggi’s death as a botched rendition attempt by rogue operators, although the Saudi attorney general described the killing as “premeditated” in late October, based on information the Turkish government provided.
The Associated Press pointed out that Saudi authorities previously said they arrested 18 people in the case. Thursday’s report from the Saudi press agency did not indicate why only eleven of them were in court or what has become of the other seven.
The AP noted there is good reason to believe the five defendants indicted on capital charges will indeed depart for the hereafter if convicted, and they probably will not be sitting in the departure lounge for long:
It is no surprise that the kingdom would seek to execute those accused in Khashoggi’s slaying. Saudi Arabia was the world’s third top executioner in 2017, behind China and Iran, according to Amnesty International’s most recent figures available.
The kingdom executed at least 146 people, according to the group. It regularly beheads those condemned to death and last year said it “crucified” a Myanmar man, an execution in which the condemned is usually beheaded and then the body put on display, arms outstretched as if crucified.
The UK Independent noted that reports of the hearing on Thursday came entirely from Saudi state media and were not accompanied by photographs of the trial, nor were any of the eleven defendants or their legal representatives named. The Independent also relayed claims from Turkish media that some of the individuals most strongly linked to the Khashoggi killing do not appear to be under arrest in any meaningful way.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who has since been replaced, refused Turkey’s extradition request for all 18 of the arrested suspects in December. He made the same complaint about Turkish reluctance to share evidence in the case that Saudi prosecutors registered on Thursday.
“The Turkish authorities have not been as forthcoming as we believe they should have been. We have asked our friends in Turkey to provide us with evidence that we can use in a court of law. We have not received it in the manner that it should have been received,” Jubeir said in December.
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