A Turkish court has ordered that the trial of 26 Saudis accused of killing Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi be suspended in their absence and that the matter be moved to Saudi Arabia.
On October 2, 2018, the 59-year-old journalist was assassinated inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The prosecutor had requested that the trial be transferred to Saudi authorities in his absence last week.
Later, Turkey’s justice minister stated that the proposal would be approved by the government.
The Istanbul court said on Thursday that it has decided to halt the case and hand it over to Saudi Arabia, granting the prosecutor’s request on March 31.
Despite concerns from human rights groups that handing the case over to the kingdom would result in a cover-up of the death, which was linked to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a 2018 US intelligence report, the decision was made.
Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish scientist and researcher who is Khashoggi’s girlfriend, said she will fight the ruling.
She told journalists outside the court that Turkey “is not run by a dynasty like Saudi Arabia,” and that “we have a justice system that answers citizens’ problems.”
“We will file an appeal in accordance with our legal system,” she continued.
Turkey has been attempting to mend its ties with Saudi Arabia and a number of other Middle Eastern countries.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Turkish government to cancel the plan on Wednesday.
“Transferring the Khashoggi trial from Turkey to Saudi Arabia would eliminate any chance of justice for him, and would reaffirm Saudi officials’ obvious view that they can get away with murder,” said Michael Page, HRW’s deputy Middle East director.
“By handing over the Khashoggi case to the very people accused in his murder, the Turkish authorities should rescind their decision and not contribute any further to Saudi impunity.”
In a secret trial, a Saudi court sentenced eight lower-level operators convicted guilty of the murder to prison terms ranging from seven to twenty years.
In November 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that Khashoggi’s murder was “premeditated” and that the order to kill him came from the Saudi government’s “highest echelons.”
Since then, the Turkish government has backtracked on its calls for an international probe into the murder.
