Saudi prosecutor seeks death penalty for five Khashoggi murder suspects

The Saudi Press Agency says the prosecution is seeking the death penalty for five of the 11 suspects on trial in the high-profile killing of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

A member of the security staff at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, October 29, 2018.
Reuters

A member of the security staff at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, October 29, 2018.

Saudi Arabia's attorney general sought the death penalty for five of 11 defendants charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as their high-profile trial opened in Riyadh on Thursday.

The official 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 also said that prosecutors sent a request to Turkey for evidence that Ankara has collected over the October 2 killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

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

TRT World's Editor-at-Large Ahmet Alioglu brings more from outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

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Three months-old crime

Khashoggi, a government critic and columnist for The Washington Post was killed on October 2 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

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

Saudi Arabia initially denied Khashoggi was killed but acknowledged his slaying weeks later.

Turkish media have published photographs of members of the crown prince's entourage at the consulate ahead of the slaying. 

Khashoggi's body, believed to have been dismembered, has not been found.

Turkish officials have previously said they shared evidence with Riyadh and other nations related to the crime.

Ankara had demanded that the suspects be extradited to face trial in Istanbul, and is calling for a UN probe into the killing.

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