Khashoggi murder trial in Riyadh lacked accountability, UN rights office says
A court in Riyadh Monday jailed eight people over the 2018 murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Saudi Arabia’s trial over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi lacked transparency and accountability, a UN official said on Tuesday.
A court in Riyadh on Monday issued its final verdicts, jailing eight people for involvement in Khashoggi's murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul nearly two years ago. Five were handed 20-year-sentences and three others given jail terms of seven to 10 years. The names of the defendants were not made public.
The trial has been widely panned by human rights experts for failing to hold accountable the government officials who allegedly orchestrated Khashoggi's murder.
“This is a case where there has not been proper transparency in the justice process, those responsible should be prosecuted and given sentences commensurate with the crime,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Rupert Colville said in Geneva Tuesday, according to Reuters. “There is a whole issue of transparency and accountability in the case.”
