SAUDI: Khashoggi verdict won't mitigate criticisms that are discouraging FDI

GULF COUNTRIES - In Brief 23 Dec 2019 by Justin Alexander
Sentences were issued today by the Saudi court trying those accused by the public prosecutor of involvement in the October 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A brief statement from the public prosecutor said that, of the 11 Saudi nationals put on trial, 5 were sentenced to death for directly being involved in the killing, 3 to 24-year jail terms for the coverup and 3 were acquitted. No names were released and there is a potential for appeals. Shalaan al-Shalaan, a spokesman for the prosecutor, said at a press conference that there was no prior intention to kill him, which was a snap decision by the team on the ground after they concluded that it would be "impossible to transfer him to a safe place to complete negotiations with him". He also said that no charges were filed against two senior officials close to the crown prince Mohamad bin Salman (MBS) who are widely thought to have had a role, Saud al-Qahtani (MBS's former media advisor) and Ahmed el-Asseri (the former deputy intelligence chief). The consul in Istanbul was also acquitted.It does not seem credible that the Saudi "negotiation" team would have made such an extreme decision on their own and implemented it without senior approval. Agnes Callamard, the UN rapporteur on extra-judicial executions tweeted a detailed criticism of the conclusion and the judicial process. She noted that the presence of a forensic doctor in the "killing team" indicated premeditation and said that her sources indicated that the public prosecutor reached the same conclusion but was overruled by MBS. There was no investigation of culpability up the chain of command or at a state-level.The murder was particularly notoriou...

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