‘The masterminds walk free’

A Saudi court verdict that exonerated the crown prince’s top aides over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been globally condemned as a travesty of justice, but won the backing of ally Washington.

Five unnamed people were sentenced to death on Monday while three others were handed jail terms totalling 24 years over the Washington Post columnist’s killing last year in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate.

The verdict underscores Saudi efforts to turn the page on one of its worst diplomatic crises that tarnished Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s global reputation and sparked intense scrutiny of the kingdom’s human rights record.

However, the case is still likely to remain a headache for Saudi Arabia even as it seeks to reboot its international image ahead of next year’s G20 summit in Riyadh.

A US State Department official hailed the verdict as “an important step” in holding the perpetrators accountable.

But it was lambasted by Turkey, which called it a “scandalous” outcome that had granted “impunity” to those who had dispatched the killers, in an apparently veiled reference to Prince Mohammed.

Riyadh has described the murder as a “rogue” operation that did not involve the crown prince.

But both the CIA and UN special envoy Agnes Callamard have directly linked Prince Mohammed to the killing, a charge the kingdom vehemently denies.

“Bottom line: the hit-men are guilty, sentenced to death,” Callamard said on Twitter, calling the verdict a “mockery”.

“The masterminds not only walk free. They have barely been touched by the investigation and the trial.”

Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi insider-turned-critic, was strangled and his body cut into pieces by a 15-man Saudi squad inside the consulate, according to Turkish officials. His remains have not been found.

Saudi prosecutors had said deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri oversaw Khashoggi’s killing and the US Treasury had claimed the royal court’s media czar Saud al-Qahtani was “part of the planning and execution” of the operation that led to the murder.

Qahtani was investigated but not indicted “due to insufficient evidence” and Assiri was charged but eventually acquitted on the same grounds, the public prosecutor’s office said.

Both aides were part of Prince Mohammed’s tight-knit inner circle and were formally sacked over the killing, but only Assiri appeared in the court hearings, according to Western sources.

The verdict can be appealed.