Afp, Istanbul
Turkey has charged 20 suspects including two former aides to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the 2018 murder of Riyadh critic Jamal Khashoggi, prosecutors said yesterday.

Prosecutors accuse Saudi Arabia's deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri and the royal court's media czar Saud al-Qahtani of leading the operation and giving orders to a Saudi hit team.

Khashoggi, 59, a commentator who wrote for The Washington Post, was killed after he entered the Saudi consulate on October 2, 2018, to obtain paperwork for his wedding to Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz.

Turkey carried out its own investigation into the murder after being unhappy with Saudi explanations.

The Istanbul prosecutor's office said in a statement that Assiri and Qahtani, along with 18 others, were charged with "instigating the deliberate and monstrous killing, causing torment".

They face life in jail if convicted.

The Turkish prosecutor said a trial in absentia would be opened against the 20 suspects but did not give a date.

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