Turkish Prosecutor Asks Khashoggi Murder Trial to Be Moved to Saudi Arabia - Report

Khashoggi, who was a columnist for the Washington Post, vanished in October 2018, after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents that would allow him to marry his Turkish girlfriend. His remains were never found.

A Turkish prosecutor has requested a court to halt the trial in absentia of 26 Saudi suspects charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and hand the case over to Saudi authorities, Reuters reported, citing the national media.

The court reportedly stated on Thursday that it would seek the opinion of the justice ministry on the request, and that the next hearing would be on April 7.

According to reports, the prosecutor noted that the case "has been dragging because the court orders cannot be executed on the grounds that the suspects are foreign nationals." After Saudi Arabia refused to extradite the defendants, Turkey began prosecuting them in their absence in 2020.

According to the Washington Post, citing Erol Onderoglu, the Turkey representative for Reporters Without Borders, who was at the court hearing in Istanbul, the prosecutor stated the motion to postpone the Turkish prosecution followed a Saudi transfer request earlier in March.

The development in the case comes as Turkey seeks to improve relations with Saudi Arabia, which have deteriorated since the assassination of Khashoggi.

The Khashoggi murder in the Saudi consulate nearly four years ago sparked international outrage and placed pressure on Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In a US intelligence report released a year ago, the crown prince was said to have approved the operation to kill or capture Khashoggi, but the Saudi government denied any involvement and dismissed the document's findings.

Turkish officials believe Khashoggi, a vocal critic of the crown prince, was assassinated and his body dismembered in an operation authorized by the Saudi government's "highest levels," according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Because the defendants were not present at the trial, some observers saw the Turkish prosecution as symbolic. However, unlike a trial held behind closed doors in Saudi Arabia, the procedures were reportedly held in public and included witness testimony. However, in the past months, the Turkish court had allegedly refused to take the US intelligence report on the killing as evidence.

In September 2020, Saudi Arabia convicted eight persons of the murder, but did not name them. Officials in the kingdom have disputed that the crown prince ordered Khashoggi's assassination.

Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi's girlfriend, who was present at the court hearing this week in Turkey, later issued a statement saying she was "heartbroken" by the prosecutor's plea.

"No good will come of sending the case to Saudi Arabia," she said, per Reuters. "We all know the authorities there will do nothing. How do we expect the killers to investigate themselves?"