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Therefore, the kingdom closes this case with what it described as “peremptory” rulings. The decision provoked unfortunate reactions, especially from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Presidency, and from Khashoggi’s fiancé, Hatice Cengiz, who described the decision as “theatrical” and that the ruling represented a “mockery of justice.”
Noteworthy in the decision is the acquittal of each of the former deputy intelligence chief, Ahmed al-Asiri, one of the main assistants of the Saudi crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, and the absence of the name of the adviser in the royal court, Saud al -Qahtani. Two names that wavered long shortly after the murder, the Saudi judiciary sidelined.
In the media, the treatment of the Saudi rulings differed between the media that praised them and others that questioned their credibility. At the level of the Saudi platforms, the newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat headlined: “Jamal Khashoggi: Final prison sentences doubling the Khashoggi case.” And the text of the news cites what the family of the murdered journalist announced, that the sentences are “fair and dissuasive for all criminals”, after they previously renounced their own right and announced “amnesty for the murderers.” The Saudi newspaper promoted the Kingdom’s swift action on this issue, and that it took a “package of legal measures” to cut off the “path to attempts to politicize the issue.” In turn, the Al-Arabiya channel regretted the Saudi “peremptory” sentences.
On the other hand, the Qatari channel “Al-Jazeera” pointed out that the sentences did not include the death penalty, and that thus “it tarnished the kingdom’s reputation abroad and caused it great embarrassment at the diplomatic level.” The station also showed Turkish positions opposing the rulings, and the position of the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Agnes Callamard, who described the rulings as “not characterized by any legal and moral legitimacy”.
