In surprise move, Turkish prosecutor asks to shelve trial of Saudis in Khashoggi slaying
ANKARA, Turkey — The Turkish prosecutor in the case against 26 Saudi nationals charged in the slaying of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi made a surprise request Thursday that their trial in absentia be suspended and the case transferred to Saudi Arabia.
The panel of judges made no ruling on the prosecutor’s request but decided that a letter should be sent to Turkey’s Justice Ministry seeking its opinion on the possible transfer of the file to the Saudi judicial authorities, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The trial was adjourned until April 7.
The private DHA news agency reported that the prosecutor told the court that, in a letter dated March 13, the Saudi chief public prosecutor’s office requested that the proceedings in Turkey be transferred to the kingdom and that international warrants issued by Ankara against the defendants be lifted.
Arguing for the transfer, the prosecutor said that because the arrest warrants cannot be executed and defense statements cannot be taken, the case would remain inconclusive in Turkey.
The development comes as Turkey has been trying to normalize its relationship with Saudi Arabia, which hit an all-time low following Khashoggi’s grisly killing. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview Thursday that Saudi authorities were being more cooperative on judicial issues with Turkey, but did not elaborate.
Khashoggi disappeared Oct. 2, 2018, after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, seeking documents that would allow him to marry Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish national who was waiting outside the building. He never emerged.
A newly released U.S. report concludes that the Saudi crown prince directed the operation to kill the Washington Post journalist.
Turkish officials allege that Khashoggi, who was a resident of the U.S., was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw inside the consulate. His body has not been found. Prior to his killing, Khashoggi had written critically of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in columns for the Washington Post.
Turkish authorities said he was killed by a team of Saudi agents. Those on trial in absentia include two former aides to the prince.
Saudi officials initially offered conflicting accounts concerning the killing, including claims that Khashoggi had left the consulate building unharmed. But amid mounting international pressure, they stated that Khashoggi’s death was a tragic accident, with the meeting unexpectedly turning violent.
Turkey decided to try the defendants in absentia after Saudi Arabia rejected Turkish demands for their extradition.
Satellite photos show the U.S. has removed its most advanced missile defense system and Patriot batteries from Saudi Arabia.
The slaying had sparked international condemnation and cast a cloud of suspicion over Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Western intelligence agencies, as well as the U.S. Congress, have said that an operation of this magnitude could not have happened without his knowledge.
Amnesty International urged Turkey to press ahead with the trial.
“If the prosecutor’s request is granted, then instead of prosecuting and shedding light on a murder that was committed on its territory ... Turkey will be knowingly and willingly sending the case to a place where it will be covered up,” said Tarik Beyhan, Amnesty’s campaign director for Turkey.
Beyhan said he didn’t want to “think about the possibility” that the prosecutor’s request may be related to the improving ties between Riyadh and Ankara.
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“Basic human rights ... should not be made the subject of political negotiations,” he said. “A murder cannot be covered up to fix relations.”
Some of the men were put on trial in Riyadh behind closed doors. A Saudi court issued a final verdict in 2020 that sentenced five mid-level officials and operatives to 20-year jail terms. The court had originally ordered the death penalty, but reduced the punishment after Khashoggi’s son Salah, who lives in Saudi Arabia, announced that he forgave the defendants. Three others were sentenced to lesser jail terms.
On Thursday, Khashoggi’s fiancee Cengiz appeared to criticize the prosecutor’s request, in a tweet in English. “It is an exemplary situation in terms of showing the dilemma facing humanity in the modern era,” she wrote. “Which of the two will we choose? To want to live like a virtuous human being or to build a life by holding material interests above all kinds of values.”
She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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