ANKARA, Turkey (Washington Insider Magazine) – The Turkish prosecutor in the trial of 26 Saudi citizens accused of killing Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi filed an unexpected plea on Thursday to have their trial in absentia halted and the case moved to Saudi Arabia.
According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, the panel of judges did not rule on the prosecutor’s request, but agreed to send a letter to Turkey’s Department Of justice asking its view on the prospective transfer of the case to Saudi court authorities. The trial has been postponed until April 7.
The prosecutor informed the court that the Saudi chief public prosecutor’s office asked that the trials in Turkey be moved to the kingdom and also that international summons issued by Ankara to the defendants be withdrawn in a letter dated March 13, according to the private DHA news agency.
The prosecution argued for the relocation, claiming that the trial would remain unresolved in Turkey since the arrest warrants could not be carried out and defense testimonies could not be obtained.
The news comes as Turkey tries to mend its strained ties with Saudi Arabia, which reached an all-time low following the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. In an interview on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that Saudi authorities were more helpful with Turkey on judicial problems, but did not clarify.
On Oct. 2, 2018, Khashoggi vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to get paperwork that would permit him to legally marry Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish citizen who was waiting outside. He was never seen again.
Turkish officials claim that the Saudi individual, who was a US resident, was murdered inside the embassy and then mutilated with a bone saw. His body has yet to be discovered. Khashoggi had written pieces for the Washington Post criticizing Saudi Arabia’s crown prince before his killing.
According to Turkish officials, he was murdered by a group of Saudi agents. Two of the prince’s former aides are among those on trial in his absence.
Saudi officials first gave contradictory stories of Khashoggi’s death, including assurances that he had departed the embassy building unhurt. However, in the face of rising international criticism, they claimed Khashoggi’s murder was the result of a terrible accident, with the encounter abruptly developing into violence.
After Saudi Arabia refused to extradite the defendants, Turkey chose to trial them in their absence.
The assassination drew widespread outrage and placed a pall over Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. According to ABC NEWS, Western intelligence services, as well as the US Congress, have stated that a mission of this scale could not have taken place without his knowledge.
Amnesty International has encouraged Turkey to pursue the trial.
A few of the men were placed on trial behind closed doors in Riyadh. In 2020, a Saudi court handed down a final decision in which 5 mid-level officers and operatives were sentenced to 20 years in prison. The death penalty had been decreed by the court, but it was reduced when Khashoggi’s son Salah, who resides in Saudi Arabia, said that he pardoned the defendants. Three others were given lesser punishments.
