Murder of Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey has tried 20 suspects in absentia
Saturday, July 4, 2020
UPDATimes - Twenty Saudi citizens were tried in absentia in Turkey for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Khashoggi, vocal critic of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, was killed by a group of Saudi agents inside the royal consulate in Istanbul.
The defendants included two of the prince's aides, who denied their involvement.
Their trial in Turkey is carried out in absentia, which means they are tried and sentenced without being present in court.
Khashoggi, vocal critic of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, was killed by a group of Saudi agents inside the royal consulate in Istanbul.
The defendants included two of the prince's aides, who denied their involvement.
Their trial in Turkey is carried out in absentia, which means they are tried and sentenced without being present in court.
Saudi Arabia, which rejected Turkey's extradition request, sentenced eight people to Khashoggi's murder last year.
Five people were sentenced to death for directly participating in the killings, while three others were sentenced to prison for covering up crimes.
The Saudi trial was called "the antithesis of justice" by the UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard, who concluded that Khashoggi was "a victim of deliberate and planned execution" and the Saudi state was responsible for it.
Five people were sentenced to death for directly participating in the killings, while three others were sentenced to prison for covering up crimes.
The Saudi trial was called "the antithesis of justice" by the UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard, who concluded that Khashoggi was "a victim of deliberate and planned execution" and the Saudi state was responsible for it.
What happened at the hearing?
Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who is a Turkish citizen, was the one who testified at the session's opening session.
He later told reporters gathered outside the courtroom that he found the process spiritually and psychologically exhausting.
Cengiz expressed his confidence in the Turkish justice system and stated: "Our search for justice will continue in Turkey and wherever we can do it."
Another witness who provided evidence was Zeki Demir, a Turkish citizen who worked as a technician at the Saudi consulate.
Demir told the court that he was summoned to the residence of the consul general on the day Khashoggi disappeared and asked to light the oven that is used for barbecues.
"There are five to six people there," he said. "There was an atmosphere of panic ... As if they wanted me to leave as soon as possible."
Demir added that he returned to the residence a few days later and found the marble around the oven had been watered with bleach.
Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who is a Turkish citizen, was the one who testified at the session's opening session.
He later told reporters gathered outside the courtroom that he found the process spiritually and psychologically exhausting.
Cengiz expressed his confidence in the Turkish justice system and stated: "Our search for justice will continue in Turkey and wherever we can do it."
Another witness who provided evidence was Zeki Demir, a Turkish citizen who worked as a technician at the Saudi consulate.
Demir told the court that he was summoned to the residence of the consul general on the day Khashoggi disappeared and asked to light the oven that is used for barbecues.
"There are five to six people there," he said. "There was an atmosphere of panic ... As if they wanted me to leave as soon as possible."
Demir added that he returned to the residence a few days later and found the marble around the oven had been watered with bleach.
Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur who was also present at the hearing, said: "We cannot say the case of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi has been formally followed up in a system recognized by the international community, because trials in Saudi Arabia must not be given credibility and legitimacy."
"Here for the first time, assassins have been charged and also a number of people have been ordered to commit the crime," he added.
The next trial will take place on November 24th.
Analysis by Frank Gardner, BBC News security correspondent
From the surface, this trial may appear to some as a pointless business and for political purposes only.
The Saudi suspects are not in court; maybe there will never be a suspect who was extradited to Turkey to be tried; and Saudi Arabia held its own court, in secret, last year, which was widely criticized for being deemed incomplete.
But for the UN special rapporteur, for the journalist's fiance who was killed, and for his friends and relatives, this is an opportunity to reveal all the facts.
Moreover, it was Turkilah's intelligence service that intercepted the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where the killings took place, so that Turkey had important audio recordings of the reporter's last minute before he was killed.
Of course there are also political points here: Turkey and Saudi Arabia are rivals in their territories.
But those who attended the opening of the trial believed that this trial would provide new opportunities to uncover new evidence and might incriminate the perpetrators.
"Here for the first time, assassins have been charged and also a number of people have been ordered to commit the crime," he added.
The next trial will take place on November 24th.
Analysis by Frank Gardner, BBC News security correspondent
From the surface, this trial may appear to some as a pointless business and for political purposes only.
The Saudi suspects are not in court; maybe there will never be a suspect who was extradited to Turkey to be tried; and Saudi Arabia held its own court, in secret, last year, which was widely criticized for being deemed incomplete.
But for the UN special rapporteur, for the journalist's fiance who was killed, and for his friends and relatives, this is an opportunity to reveal all the facts.
Moreover, it was Turkilah's intelligence service that intercepted the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where the killings took place, so that Turkey had important audio recordings of the reporter's last minute before he was killed.
Of course there are also political points here: Turkey and Saudi Arabia are rivals in their territories.
But those who attended the opening of the trial believed that this trial would provide new opportunities to uncover new evidence and might incriminate the perpetrators.
Jamal Khashoggi's fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, told journalists: "We believe in justice in Turkey."
How was Jamal Khashoggi killed?
The 59-year-old journalist, who was secluded in the United States in 2017, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate on October 2, 2018 to take care of the papers he needed to marry Cengiz.
After listening to audio recordings of conversations inside the consulate made by Turkish intelligence, Callamard concluded that Khashoggi was "brutally murdered" that day.
The Saudi government says the journalist was killed in a "wild operation" by a group of agents.
Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor said the killing was ordered by the head of the "negotiating team" sent to Istanbul to bring Khashoggi back to the kingdom "by persuasive means" or, if that fails, "by force".
Prosecutors concluded that Khashoggi was forcibly detained after a struggle and was injected with large amounts of drugs, resulting in an overdose which caused his death. His body was then cut into pieces and handed over to local "collaborators" outside the consulate. His remains were never found.
Turkey's Public Prosecutor concluded that Khashoggi was strangled shortly after he entered the consulate, and that his body was destroyed.
Who are the defendants?
Turkish government news agency Anadolu cited the indictment filed by Turkish prosecutors accusing Saud al-Qahtani, a former senior adviser to Crown Prince Muhammad, and Ahmad Asiri, a former deputy head of Saudi intelligence, "instigating premeditated murder with the intention of [causing] torture through instinct. evil".
While 18 other defendants were accused of "premeditated murder with the intention of [causing] torture through evil instincts".
A court-appointed Turkish lawyer representing the defendants said their client denied the allegations.
The 59-year-old journalist, who was secluded in the United States in 2017, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate on October 2, 2018 to take care of the papers he needed to marry Cengiz.
After listening to audio recordings of conversations inside the consulate made by Turkish intelligence, Callamard concluded that Khashoggi was "brutally murdered" that day.
The Saudi government says the journalist was killed in a "wild operation" by a group of agents.
Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor said the killing was ordered by the head of the "negotiating team" sent to Istanbul to bring Khashoggi back to the kingdom "by persuasive means" or, if that fails, "by force".
Prosecutors concluded that Khashoggi was forcibly detained after a struggle and was injected with large amounts of drugs, resulting in an overdose which caused his death. His body was then cut into pieces and handed over to local "collaborators" outside the consulate. His remains were never found.
Turkey's Public Prosecutor concluded that Khashoggi was strangled shortly after he entered the consulate, and that his body was destroyed.
Who are the defendants?
Turkish government news agency Anadolu cited the indictment filed by Turkish prosecutors accusing Saud al-Qahtani, a former senior adviser to Crown Prince Muhammad, and Ahmad Asiri, a former deputy head of Saudi intelligence, "instigating premeditated murder with the intention of [causing] torture through instinct. evil".
While 18 other defendants were accused of "premeditated murder with the intention of [causing] torture through evil instincts".
A court-appointed Turkish lawyer representing the defendants said their client denied the allegations.
The identities of the eight people convicted of Khashoggi's murder in Saudi Arabia have never been revealed by Saudi authorities.
According to an interview conducted by Callamard, their lawyer argued at the Saudi trial that they were civil servants and could not refuse their superiors' orders, and that Asiri insisted that he never allowed the use of force to bring Khashoggi back to Saudi.
The Saudi public prosecutor said Asiri was tried but acquitted because of insufficient evidence, and that Saud al-Qahtani was investigated but not charged.
Khashoggi's son Salah, who lives in Saudi Arabia, said in May that he and his brothers had "forgiven those who killed our father, seeking merit from Allah SWT".
Under Saudi law, this remission formally suspends the death penalty in murder cases.
According to an interview conducted by Callamard, their lawyer argued at the Saudi trial that they were civil servants and could not refuse their superiors' orders, and that Asiri insisted that he never allowed the use of force to bring Khashoggi back to Saudi.
The Saudi public prosecutor said Asiri was tried but acquitted because of insufficient evidence, and that Saud al-Qahtani was investigated but not charged.
Khashoggi's son Salah, who lives in Saudi Arabia, said in May that he and his brothers had "forgiven those who killed our father, seeking merit from Allah SWT".
Under Saudi law, this remission formally suspends the death penalty in murder cases.
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