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The sentences announced today for the murderers of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi lack legal and moral legitimacy; on the other hand, it is good that the death penalty has been replaced by prison and that Riyadh has not committed new arbitrary killings. This opinion was expressed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, Agnes Callamard.
The trial for the death of journalist Jamal Khashogiya, which ended today in Saudi Arabia, was neither honest, fair, nor transparent. About it set on Twitter, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, Agnes Callamard.
“The Saudi Arabian prosecutor today committed another act in this parody of justice. These sentences have no legal or moral legitimacy,” he wrote.
The expert positively valued the replacement of the death penalty by 20 years in prison for five murderers.
“If such sentences were carried out, they would amount to more arbitrary killings by Saudi Arabia, while the names of the main witnesses to the execution were silenced. [Хашогги]”, – Callamard considers.
The high-ranking officials who organized the journalist’s extrajudicial execution were freed from persecution early on, and Crown Prince Mohammed ibn Salman is still reliably protected against any scrutiny, the UN official said.
“It is now more than ever that the US intelligence services, including the Director of National Intelligence, must release data on Muhammad bin Salman’s responsibility in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Although formal justice cannot be achieved in Saudi Arabia, you can find the truth, “Callamard said.
2. The 5 hitmen are sentenced to 20 years in prison, but the high-level officials who organized and embraced the execution of Jamal Khashoggi have been free from the start, hardly shaken by the investigation and trial. https://t.co/QN8RHUuaOy
– Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) September 7, 2020
4. These verdicts should not relieve pressure on governments, and in particular on the P5s who quietly watched the trials in Riyadh, to ensure that the participation of all officials, including those at the top, is investigated, brought to light. and reported.
– Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) September 7, 2020
6. I welcome the fact that the death sentence has been commuted. Had those sentences been carried out, they would have meant further arbitrary killings by the Saudi Arabian state and the permanent silencing of key witnesses to the execution.
– Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) September 7, 2020
On September 7, the Riyadh Criminal Court rendered the final verdict in the Khashoggi case. Five people were sentenced to 20 years in prison each, one more received 10 years in prison, from two to seven years in prison.
Court of December 23, 2019 found these eight people guilty in the murder of a journalist. Five were sentenced to death and three more to 24 years in prison. However, in In May 2020, the children of the deceased announced that they would forgive those responsible. In such a case, the death penalty was subject to review in accordance with the law of Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi was assassinated on October 2, 2018 after going to the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul.
The 59-year-old journalist has repeatedly criticized the Saudi Arabian authorities, in particular Crown Prince Mohammed Ibn Salman. He left Saudi Arabia in 2017 after the arrest of several close friends.
Turkish law enforcement officials believe the journalist’s body was dismembered and destroyed in acid in the territory of the consulate or in the residence of the consul general.
On June 19, 2019, Callamard published a report according to which there is credible evidence of a connection between the murder of a journalist and the crown prince. The latter denies his involvement in the crime.
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