(RIYADH) – After one year of deflections and denials regarding the disappearance and alleged gruesome killing of 59 year-old Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi court has now sentenced five suspects to death in connection with the international incident. in addition to the five, another three suspects have been handed 24 year prison sentences for their alleged role in the killing.

According to prosecutors, senior Saudi royal adviser Saud al-Qahtani was investigated, but then released without charge “due to insufficient evidence”.

The grisly murder of Khashoggi was said to have taken place int the Saudi embassy in Istanbul in October 2018, with reports at the time claiming that the journalist was tortured, before his body was chopped into pieces and disposed of. However, to date, neither body nor the murder weapon has ever been found, and no forensic evidence of the alleged event has ever been released to the public.

Authorities do claim to have heard audio recordings of conversations involving the victim and belligerents recorded inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul – recordings captured by Turkish intelligence and which are said to be definitive proof of the murder.

According to UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard, there exists credible evidence warranting further investigation into the matter, specifically regarding the role of high-level Saudi officials in the incident, namely Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A recent BBC report describes the now official version of events as follows:

Saudi Arabia’s deputy public prosecutor Shalaan Shalaan told reporters in November 2018 that the murder was ordered by the head of a “negotiations team” sent to Istanbul by the Saudi deputy intelligence chief to bring Khashoggi back to the kingdom “by means of persuasion” or, if that failed, “by force”.

Investigators concluded that Khashoggi was forcibly restrained after a struggle and injected with a large amount of a drug, resulting in an overdose that led to his death, Mr Shalaan said. His body was then dismembered and handed over to a local “collaborator” outside the consulate, he added. The remains were not found.

At a news conference in Riyadh on Monday, Mr Shaalan said the public prosecution’s investigations had shown that “there was no premeditation to kill at the beginning of the mission”.

In a public statement this past October bin Salman denied any role in the murder but said that he still took “full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia.”

READ MORE KHASHOGGI NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Khashoggi Files

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