Saudi Arabia sentences 5 people to death over killing Khashoggi

CAIRO – 24 December 2019: Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor sentenced Monday five people to death over charges of killing journalist Jamal bin Ahmed bin Hamza Khashoggi.

An official Saudi news agency stated that the Public Prosecution has concluded its investigations in the case which included 31 individuals. Twenty one defendants have been arrested and the other 10 have been called in for questioning.

The investigation yielded the following:

First, indicting and filing criminal charges against 11 defendants in the Criminal Court of Riyadh.

Second, the Criminal Court of Riyadh rendered its decision regarding the 11 defendants as follows:

1- Five defendants will be handed the maximum sentence for directly participating in the murder of the victim.

2- Three defendants will be handed different sentences of up to 24 years in prison for covering up this crime and violating the law.

3- The court acquitted three individuals of all charges.

Third, the Public Prosecution did not file charges against 10 individuals and released them due to insufficient evidence.

The Public Prosecution stated that it will be reviewing the court’s decision and decide whether it will file an appeal at the Appellate Court.