RIYADH: Saudi King Salman heaped praise on the kingdom’s judiciary Monday,in his first public remarks since critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder tippedthe country into one of its worst international crises.
The public prosecutor last week exonerated powerful Crown Prince Mohammedbin Salman of involvement in the murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbulon October 2, but the CIA reportedly concluded that he ordered theassassination.
The prosecutor called for the death penalty against five men as itannounced indictments against 11 people and said a total of 21 individualswere in custody in connection with the killing.
“The kingdom was founded on Islamic principles of justice and equality, andwe are proud of the efforts of the judiciary and the public prosecution andthe performance of the job entrusted to them,” the king said in his annualaddress to the Shura Council, a top advisory body.
The 82-year-old monarch did not directly address the murder of TheWashington Post columnist in his speech.
US President Donald Trump, who has praised Saudi Arabia as a “trulyspectacular ally”, has refrained from blaming Prince Mohammed despite theCentral Intelligence Agency’s reported assessment that he was behind thekilling.
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Saudi Arabia — which quickly dismissed the reported CIA findings — hasoffered shifting accounts of what happened, initially saying Khashoggi leftthe embassy after receiving his documents and later that he was killed whenan argument degenerated into a fistfight.
In the latest version, the Saudi prosecutor said a 15-member team went toIstanbul to bring Khashoggi back to the kingdom “by means of persuasion”,but killed him instead in a rogue operation.
The United States has sanctioned 17 Saudis for the crime, including closeaides of Prince Mohammed, and is set to make final conclusions this weekover the killing.
In a sign of further international pressure, Germany on Monday said it willbar 18 Saudis from entering its territory and Europe’s Schengenpassport-free zone over their alleged links to the murder. – APP/AFP
