Who are Asiri, al-Qahtani dismissed over Khashoggi’s case

CAIRO - 20 October 2018: Saudi Deputy Intelligence Chief Ahmed Al Asiri and Royal Court Adviser Saud al-Qahtani are among the five high-ranking officials dismissed in relation to Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. The following is a summary on who they are.

Ahmed Al Asiri

The major general grew up in Asir governorate southwest the kingdom. Throughout his military career, he received training in Sandhurst Military Academy in the UK, the United States Military Academy, and Special Military School of Saint-Cyr in France.

Assiri is fluent in English and French which made him an ideal candidate to be the spokesperson of the Arab Coalition in Yemen.

Saud al-Qahtani


FILE - Former Advisor to Royal Court Saud bin Abdullah al-Qahtani

al-Qahtani was born in the Saudi capital al-Riyadh in July 1978. He received a bachelor degree in law from King Saud University and a master’s degree with honors in criminal justice from Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS). al-Qahtani moved to the Crown Prince Court after he had been a captain in King Faisal Air Academy where he was teaching law, and managing the Officers Affairs Department.

In 2003, he had worked as legal advisor to the secretariat of then Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz before he became the secretariat’s media director a year later. al-Qahtani was a consultant at the office of the court deputy chairman, and then, at the office of the court chairman.

In 2008, al-Qahtani was appointed as the director general of media monitoring and analysis for the Royal Court. In 2012, he became advisor to the Royal Court and in 2015 he was given the rank of a minister.

In addition, al-Qahtani was also the supervisor general of the Center for Studies and Information Affairs. In 2017, he was appointed as chairman of the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security and Programming (SAFCSP).

al-Qahtani is on the board of directors of King Abdul Aziz University, the Misk Foundation, Misk Schools, the Royal Commission for Al-Ula, and the Saudi Union for Cyber Security and Programming.

Late on Friday, Saudi Arabia announced the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi for the first time since his disappearance after he had visited the country's consulate in Istanbul earlier this month. The kingdom announced the discharge of five high-ranking officials over the case and the detention of 18 suspects.

Know latest updates in Jamal Khashoggi's killing, world reactions

CAIRO - 20 October 2018: Late on Friday, Saudi Arabia said the journalist Jamal Khashoggi - who went missing after visiting the country's consulate in Istanbul earlier this month - is dead. This is the first time the kingdom has admitted Khashoggi is dead.