Three months after the murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, critical of the government, the trial of eleven suspects has begun in Saudi Arabia.
The alleged perpetrators have appeared before the court in the capital Riyadh, said Attorney General Saud al-Mujib in a statement. The indictment had been read out. A date for the continuation of the trial was not mentioned. The prosecution demands the death penalty in five cases.
The leadership of Saudi Arabia had come under international criticism following the assassination of Khashoggi. The Washington Post columnist was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in early October by a special team from Saudi Arabia. A number of clues moved heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman, son of the king, in the vicinity of the act.
The Prosecutor General’s Office in Riyadh in November had announced the indictment of eleven Saudi men – unnamed – by name. As a mastermind, the former Deputy Chief of Intelligence, Ahmed al-Asiri.
Even the confidant of the heir to the throne and high-ranking government official Saud al-Kahtani is accused of having been involved in the organization of the act. He is, according to the available information, not part of the process.
