Turkey starts absentia trial against alleged killers of Jamal Khashoggi

Twenty Saudi nationals, including two former aides of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, went under trial in absentia in Turkey on July 3 over the killing of exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Turkey claims that the killing of Khashoggi was ordered by Saudi deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri and the royal court's media czar Saud al-Qahtani. The killing was allegedly carried out inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and Khashoggi's body was dismembered and disposed of by the hitmen who flew back to the kingdom right after. 

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The involvement of these men was initially denied by Saudi Arabia but the Kingdom later accepted that they were indeed involved in the killing of Khashoggi and said that appropriate action will be taken against them. Turkey investigated initially and found the involvement of these men via CCTV footage that confirmed their presence inside the consulate. Turkey also analyzed Khashoggi's laptop and phone, including his Apple watch, which allegedly revealed that he was brutally tortured before the killing. 

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Khashoggi's killing

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest levels in the Saudi government but never blamed Mohammed bin Salman directly. In 2018, the Kingdom faced a lot of backlash from the western world for its alleged involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi, an avid critic of the royal family was living in the United States at the time of the murder and had visited Turkey to get his papers done for his marriage.

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