Saudi prosecutor asks for death penalty as suspects face court

Saudi prosecutors will seek the death penalty for at least five people in the slaying of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, the kingdom’s state media reported on Thursday as 11 suspects attended their first court hearing.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency and state television gave few details about the hearing and did not name the suspects.

However, a statement from prosecutors said the suspects attended the hearing with their lawyers.

The Attorney-General said Saudi Arabia had twice submitted formal requests for evidence from Turkey — where Khashoggi was murdered inside the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate — but had received no response.

Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, was killed on October 2 at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. He had written columns critical of Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia initially denied Khashoggi was killed but acknowledged his slaying weeks later.

Turkish media have published photographs of members of the crown prince’s entourage at the consulate ahead of the slaying.

Khashoggi’s body, believed to have been dismembered, has not been found.

The US Central Intelligence Agency has reportedly concluded that the kingdom’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, very likely ordered Khashoggi’s murder.

But in November the Saudi Attorney-General ruled out any involvement by the young crown prince, whose reformist credentials abroad have been seriously tarnished by the killing.