On 24 November 2020, a Turkish court resumed the trial in absentia of 26 Saudi officials for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. ALQST was in court to monitor the trial proceedings. 

Ayman Nour, Egyptian opposition leader and owner of Al-Sharq TV channel was present as the only witness in today’s hearing. The next session will be on 4 March 2021.

The first trial session took place on 3 July 2020, following an indictment by Turkish prosecutors in March against 20 Saudi officials in connection to the murder. During the hearing, eight witnesses gave testimonies. A second indictment was filed against a further six officials in September. 

“This trial is no replacement for an international and independent criminal investigation into Khasgoggi’s murder, which ALQST has long called for”, said ALQST’s Acting Director Safa Al Ahmad.  

“Yet in the total absence of justice so far, including a lack of follow-up criminal probe, and the absolute miscarriage of justice in the Saudi courts, this trial offers a chance to resolve some still-unanswered questions such as what happened to his body, and offers a potential path for justice”. 

Jamal Khashoggi was lured into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018, and was there assassinated and dismembered by a team of Saudi agents. 

The Saudi authorities at first denied Jamal Khashoggi’s killing and obstructed all investigation of the crime. They then conducted their own opaque and politically driven inquiry, blamed a “rogue operation”, and prosecuted 11 unidentified people in a trial widely criticised for lacking transparency and accountability.

On 7 September 2020, the Criminal Court in Riyadh commuted five death sentences to long prison terms in the trial for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. It also handed down jail sentences to three other unnamed defendants and declared the case finally closed.

Although the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnès Callamard, found “credible evidence” that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other senior Saudi officials were liable for the killing, the Crown Prince’s responsibility was not even addressed in court and the other officials were exonerated.

For media inquiries, you can contact Safa Al Ahmad at director@alqst.org