ISTANBUL (Washington Insider Magazine) – A Turkish court on Thursday ordered that the trial of 26 Saudis charged in the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi be suspended in their absence and that the matter be moved to Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi, a US citizen who penned critical articles regarding Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was murdered on October 2, 2018, inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, in which he had went to gather paperwork for his upcoming marriage to Hatice Cengiz, his Turkish fiancee. He didn’t come out of the premises at all.
Turkish sources claim that Khashoggi was murdered within the consulate and then mutilated with a bone saw by a group of Saudi officials sent to Istanbul. A forensic expert, security and intelligence agents, and others who served the crown prince’s office were among those in the group. His remains have yet to be discovered.
According to NBC NEWS, the Istanbul court’s order comes amid concerns from human rights organizations that handing the trial over to the kingdom would result in a cover-up of the death, which has placed mistrust on the crown prince.
It also comes at a time when Turkey, which is experiencing a severe economic crisis, has been attempting to mend its strained ties with Saudi Arabia and a number of other nations in the region. According to certain media stories, Riyadh has made better ties contingent on Turkey abandoning the lawsuit against the Saudis.
The action would open the door for a settlement of tensions that have existed between the two regional powers since the Arab Spring of 2011, including Turkey’s backing for Islamist organisations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which Riyadh regards as a terrorist organisation. Turkey also supported Qatar in a diplomatic conflict that saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia boycott Doha.
The case’s prosecutor proposed that it be moved to the kingdom last week, noting that the prosecution in Turkey would be inconclusive. Turkey’s minister of justice backed the suggestion, saying that if the Turkish court isn’t pleased with the result of the hearings in the kingdom, the trial would restart in Turkey. It was unclear if Saudi Arabia, which has previously had closed-door trials for some of the accused, will hold a fresh trial.
According to the private DHA news agency, the court ordered the trial to be stopped because of the Justice Ministry’s “positive opinion.”
Human rights activists had pushed Turkey to keep the case from being sent to Saudi Arabia.
Turkey allegedly bugged the Saudi Consulate and transmitted recordings of the assassination with the CIA and others.
The assassination provoked worldwide anger and condemnation. Western intelligence agencies, and the US Congress, have stated that such a massive operation could not have taken place without the prince’s knowledge.
After Saudi Arabia refused to extradite the defendants, Turkey started prosecuting them in absentia in 2020, as part of a pledge to bring the case to light. Two of the prince’s former employees were among the accused.
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 five mid-level officials and operatives were sentenced to 20 years in prison. The death sentence 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 have been given shorter sentences.
