RIYADH: A Saudi court on Monday he overturned five death sentences for a journalist Jamal khashoggiThe murder in a final ruling that sentenced eight defendants to between seven and 20 years, state media reported.
The ruling comes after Khashoggi’s children announced in May that they had “forgiven” the killers, paving the way for less severe punishment in a case that sparked an international outcry.
The verdict, which drew fresh condemnation from activists, underscores Saudi efforts to draw a line under the October 2018 assassination as the kingdom seeks to restart its international image ahead of the November G20 summit in Riyadh.
“Five of those convicted were sentenced to 20 years in prison and three others were imprisoned for 7 to 10 years,” the official Saudi press agency said, citing a spokesman for the prosecutor.
None of the defendants were mentioned in what was described as the final court ruling on the murder, which tarnished the Crown Prince’s worldwide reputation. Mohammed bin Salman.
Khashoggi, a member of the royal family turned critic, was assassinated and dismembered at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, in a case that tarnished the reputation of the de facto ruler, Prince Mohammed.
Khashoggi, a 59-year-old critic of the crown prince, was strangled and his body hacked to pieces by a 15-man Saudi squad inside the consulate, according to Turkish officials. His remains have not been found.
Riyadh has described the assassination as a “rogue” operation, but both the CIA and a United Nations special envoy have directly linked Prince Mohammed to the assassination, an accusation the kingdom vehemently denies.
Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, criticized Monday’s ruling as “one more act today in this parody of justice.”
“These verdicts have no legal or moral legitimacy,” Callamard wrote on Twitter. “They came to the end of a process that was neither fair, fair or transparent.”
Other human rights activists echoed that view.
“From the beginning, there was never an intention to hold those responsible accountable, only repeated attempts to cover it up,” Inés Osman, director of the Geneva-based MENA Rights Group, told AFP.
“This verdict is the last nail in the coffin, saying ‘the case is already closed.’
In December, a Saudi court exonerated two of the crown prince’s top advisers for the murder: deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri and royal court media czar Saud al-Qahtani.
Both aides were part of Prince Mohammed’s inner circle and were formally fired for the murder.
Five unidentified people were sentenced to death in the December ruling, while three others received jail terms totaling 24 years for the murder.
But the family’s pardon paved the way for the reduction of sentences on Monday, including the loss of life of the five anonymous people sentenced to death.
The Washington Post reported last year that Khashoggi’s children, including his son Salah, had received multi-million dollar homes and were paid thousands of dollars a month by authorities.
Salah rejected the report and denied having discussed a financial deal with the authoritarian rulers of Saudi Arabia.
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