Saudi Arabian Court: Khashoggi’s murder annulled

The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the regime, caused sensation and horror around the world. Now a court in Saudi Arabia has overturned the death penalty against the top five defendants.

Almost two years after the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi court overturned the death penalty for the top five defendants and commuted it to 20 years in prison, the SPA news agency reports. Also three people were sentenced to several years in prison. The names of the accused have not been released.

The court was reportedly responding to the public declaration of the Khashoggis family to pardon the perpetrators. In Saudi Arabia, this is a prerequisite for converting a death sentence to prison.

Kidnapped and killed in Istanbul

Khashoggi disappeared in October 2018 after a visit to the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. It was quickly determined that he had been assassinated by a special command from Riyadh. Only after massive international criticism did the government of Saudi Arabia admit to commissioning the assassination.

Khashoggi had published critical articles on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Washington Post. At the time he was living in exile in the United States, while the kingdom was being prosecuted under Muhammad’s supervision against human rights activists, writers and opponents of Saudi involvement in the Yemeni civil war.