Introduction – Dec 23, 2019

Beheading in Saudi Arabia. Click to enlarge

Mohammed bin Salman and his senior advisors have all evaded charges. Even though the CIA had concluded that the crown prince had directly ordered the assassination.

Instead, like sacrificial lambs to a slaughter, five men have been sentenced to death and, as is customary in Saudi Arabia, they will face death by beheading.

Adding to the questionable nature of the proceedings: the identities of the convicted men are unknown. So for all we know the Saudis could well have charged, tried and convicted five other individuals who were completely unconnected to Khashoggi’s murder.

We simply have no way of knowing as UN investigators were repeatedly barred from hearings.

In other words this could easily have been a show trial and five completely innocent men may be beheaded to save Mohammed bin Salman’s reputation. Ed.

Saudi Arabia sentences five to death for murder of Jamal Khashoggi

Beth McKernan – The Guardian Dec 23, 2019

Five men have been sentenced to death and another three face 24 years in prison for their roles in the gruesome murder of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year, the Saudi public prosecutor’s office has said.

All 11 people on trial were found guilty of the killing, which triggered the kingdom’s biggest diplomatic crisis since the 9/11 attacks as world leaders and business executives sought to distance themselves from Riyadh.

However, Saudi state television also reported the Saudi attorney general’s investigation showed that the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s former top adviser, Saud al-Qahtani, had no proven involvement in the killing, after being investigated and released without charge.

Al-Qahtani has been sanctioned by the US for his alleged role in the operation.

The court also ruled that the Saudi consul-general in Istanbul at the time, Mohammed al-Otaibi, was not guilty. He was released from prison after the verdicts were announced.

The murder of Khashoggi sullied the reputation of the newly appointed crown prince, whom the CIA concluded directly ordered Khashoggi’s assassination, according to a report in the Washington Post.

Prince Mohammed has attempted to portray himself as a liberal reformer of the conservative country. The Saudi government denies the prince had knowledge of what it says was a rogue operation. The prince himself told US television in September that he took “full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia”.

After holding nine sessions, the trial concluded that there was no previous intent by those found guilty to murder.

All 11 defendants may appeal against the verdicts, the deputy public prosecutor, Shalaan bin Rajih Shalaal, said.

No other details were immediately given about the rulings in the highly secretive trial, which began in January. The identities of the men are unknown and UN investigators have been repeatedly barred from hearings, although a handful of diplomats, including from Turkey, as well as members of Khashoggi’s family, were allowed to attend the sessions.

Ankara has repeatedly sought the extradition for trial in Turkey of 18 Saudi suspects, including a 15 man hit team it says flew into Istanbul hours before the killing to dispatch the journalist.

Agnès Callamard, a UN special rapporteur who authored an inquiry into Khashoggi’s death, has previously said the search for justice must not be left to the Saudi judicial system, which is “so vulnerable to political interference”.

Dozens of high-profile critics of Prince Mohammed, including women’s rights campaigners, are in prison facing trial for treason.

Khashoggi, a US-based columnist for the Washington Post critical of the Saudi government, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October last year on a visit to pick up paperwork for his forthcoming marriage.

Continues …