Watchdog Slams Saudis For Hiding Truth Of Khashoggi Murder By Seeking Suspects' Execution

Riyadh is failing to fulfill its promise to find out the truth regarding the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by trying to sentence five suspects connected with the incident to death, the head of a media watchdog said Thursday.

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2018) Riyadh is failing to fulfill its promise to find out the truth regarding the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by trying to sentence five suspects connected with the incident to death, the head of a media watchdog said Thursday.

"Seeking death penalty for suspects is certainly not a way to reveal the whole truth on Khashoggi's murder. On the contrary it is a shameful way to escape true responsibilities," Christophe Deloire of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) tweeted.

He called for an independent international probe after more than a month of separate inquiries by Saudi and Turkish investigators who determined that Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

The Saudi public prosecutor's office said Thursday that 21 people were in custody in connection with the case, including five suspects charged with "ordering and committing" the crime, who it wants to be put on death row.

The kingdom has provided conflicting explanations of how the Washington Post columnist vanished after entering the consulate to retrieve papers he needed to remarry. It initially claimed he left unharmed but later blamed a rogue operation for the killing. The royal family has denied any role in it.