Turkey charges 20 Saudis in Khashoggi murder
Turkey will hold a trial in absentia for the 20 suspects it says participated in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Turkey has charged 20 suspects, including two former aides of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, over the October 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
An indictment prepared by the office of the Istanbul chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan accuses 20 Saudi nationals, including former Saudi Deputy Intelligence Chief Ahmad Asiri and former royal aide Saud al-Qahtani. The two men were charged with “instigating a premeditated murder,” according to a statement from the prosecutor.
The remaining 18 were charged with "deliberately and monstrously killing” the journalist and face life in prison if convicted. Turkish prosecutors have issued international arrest warrants for the suspects, all of whom are believed to be in Saudi Arabia.
On Oct. 2, 2018, Khashoggi walked into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to pick up paperwork needed to marry his Turkish fiancee. Turkish officials say a 15-man team of Saudi operatives inside the consulate then killed and dismembered Khashoggi, whose body was never recovered.
