Saudi Arabia’s attorney general sought the death penalty for five of 11 defendants charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as their high-profile trial opened in Riyadh on Thursday.
All 11 accused were present with their lawyers at the opening hearing in the capital, according to a statement by the attorney general carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Recall that Mr Khashoggi, a sharp critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed on October 2 after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, a case that has triggered global condemnation.
Top prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb said in a statement that the 11 defendants, all Saudi nationals, appeared at the court in the capital Riyadh for the first hearing in the trial.
The statement said they included five defendants for whom prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for their role in Khashoggi’s murder, without disclosing names.
The bill of indictment against the accused was read out at the procedural session.
According to the statement, the defendants who are in custody asked for time to examine the charges levelled against them.
However, no date has been set for the next hearing.
Saudi officials have repeatedly denied reports that Prince Mohammed was linked to Khashoggi’s murder.
dpa/NAN
