Sep 7, 2020 - World

Saudi court sentences 8 for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi

Rashaan Ayesh

A general manager of Alarab TV, Jamal Khashoggi — Photo: Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP via Getty Images

A Saudi court has sentenced eight nationals for the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi on Monday, AP reports.

Why it matters: The trial has been widely criticized, including by an independent UN investigator. No senior official or anyone suspected of ordering the killing was found guilty. The Saudi government has long maintained that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had no knowledge or involvement in the assassination, despite the CIA concluding last year that he gave the order.

The state of play: The names of those convicted have not been made public, per AP.

Five of the individuals were ordered to serve a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one will serve 10 years, and two were ordered to serve seven years.

Background: Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018.

The official Saudi story changed several times in the aftermath of the murder, and the government has never offered a full accounting of how and why the crime was carried out, or who gave the order.

Go deeper: A year after Jamal Khashoggi's murder, Saudi trial veiled in secrecy

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Saudi court sentences 8 for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi

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