A Turkish court put 20 Saudi officials on trial in absentia yesterday for the gruesome killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi which sparked international outrage and tarnished the image of Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler. Mr Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 when he went there seeking papers for his marriage. Photo: APSome Western governments, as well as US intelligence agency the CIA, said they believed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the hit - an accusation Saudi officials denied. The indictment accuses two top Saudi officials, former deputy head of Saudi Arabia's general intelligence Ahmed al-Asiri and former royal court adviser Saud al-Qahtani, of instigating "premeditated murder with monstrous intent". It says 18 other defendants were flown to Turkey to kill Mr Khashoggi, a prominent and well-connected journalist who had grown increasingly critical of the crown prince.

Source: Irish Independent July 04, 2020 01:40 UTC