Turkish court searches Saudi records for suspects in Khashoggi’s murder Jamal Khashoggi News

Istanbul, Turkey – A Turkish court has asked authorities to verify whether the defendants on trial in absentia for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have already been charged in Saudi Arabia.

The judge has asked the Turkish Ministry of Justice to contact members of Saudi Arabia to investigate and verify whether an investigation, indictment or verdict has been made against the accused in the case to prevent him from being tried again for the same crime in Turkey. The judge set the next trial for February 24, 2022.

Tuesday’s hearing was the fifth in a trial that began in 2020. The court is prosecuting 26 Saudi citizens, including a deputy consul and an attaché, on charges of involvement in the October 2018 assassination of a journalist at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Khashoggi, a well-known critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), lived abroad and was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain the documents needed to register the marriage.

Shortly after entering the consulate, a group of Saudi agents killed Khashoggi, and his body was dismembered and dumped, yet to be found. Dissidents who knew Khashoggi, as well as senior Turkish officials, testified alongside Turkish workers working at the consulate during the trial.

Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for the four defendants, accused of “premeditated murder for premeditated murder,” and another 18 are seeking life imprisonment for participating in the drowning of Khashoggi. Four other people face up to five years in prison for destroying, hiding or manipulating evidence.

“Delayed justice is denied justice”

A Turkish court has twice rejected a request from Hatice Cengiz Khashoggi’s Turkish group’s legal team to include as evidence a U.S. intelligence report found by MBS. he accepted the operation to catch or kill a journalist.

A report released in February said the heir-apparent had not only the power to make decisions in the kingdom to carry out the assassination, but also the “direct involvement” of a key adviser and members of his security details.

In previous hearings, the judge told Cengizi that the report “would not bring anything to the trial,” and instead asked the Istanbul Attorney General’s Office to include the report in its archives. The prosecutor has so far given no indication that he intends to cite the U.S. intelligence report.

Cengiz told Al Jazeera that she still hoped the case would bring justice to her boyfriend. “I hope to get all the evidence from the U.S., and continue to prosecute the real killers,” Cengiz said. “Delayed justice is denied justice.”

Saudi authorities have said they have already punished those responsible for the killing, and said the MBS did not punish them. Eight people, none of whom are publicly named, have been imprisoned by the kingdom for between seven and 20 years, as rights groups say it is an attempt to represent the case as closed. Khashoggi’s children have publicly said they have pardoned their father’s killers.

Concerns raised

Erol Önderoğlu, a journalist from the Turkish Chapter of Borders (RSF), attended the hearing and told Al Jazeera that the court would not hear any more witnesses, raising fears that the case could be quietly dismissed. Saudi Arabia wants to resolve political ties.

Earlier hearings were attended by diplomats from several Western countries, but on Tuesday, only the German consulate sent an observer. The third anniversary of the assassination went unmarked in October in Istanbul, in stark contrast to the memorial services held directly in front of the Saudi consulate, with the participation of Turkish and US officials and a strong media presence.

The Turkish court’s ability to prosecute Khashoggi’s assassination calls into question not only international consequences, but also what Turkish journalists can expect for their safety, Önderoğlu said.

“We have multidimensional concerns. One is related to the commitment of the international community, and now with this case, we have concerns related to the commitment of the Turkish authorities, ”he told Al Jazeera.

“The court has twice rejected requests for Hatice Cengiz and her lawyer to include a U.S. intelligence report, and the prosecutor has also given no signal to request that report, along with the idea that Turkey and Saudi Arabia are launching a joint. reconciliation and the third anniversary of the assassination was spent in silence in Istanbul; all this suggests that this case is no longer known. ‘

“We can no longer pretend that the Khashoggi case is at the top of the agenda,” he said.