US to urge Saudi Arabia for full accountability in Khashoggi case: State Department
Washington/Sputnik/UNI: The United States will continue to encourage Saudi Arabia for transparency in the investigation of columnist Jamal Khashoggi's murder in order to bring all accountable to justice, a senior US State Department official told reporters.
Earlier on Monday, a Saudi court sentenced five people to death and jailed another three for a total of 24 years over their involvement in the murder of Khashoggi.
"Today’s verdicts were an important step in holding those responsible for the terrible crime accountable. We’ve encouraged Saudi Arabia to undertake a fair and transparent judicial process, and we will continue to do so," the official said on Monday evening. "We’ve urged for the full accountability for Khashoggi’s murder since day one. These verdicts are, as I said, a step - an important step in that process and this is a process - a judicial process that continues."
Three of the eleven people who stood trial were acquitted. Former top royal adviser Saud al-Qahtani was found not guilty as was and Saudi Consul General in Istanbul Mohammed al-Otaibi, while deputy intelligence chief Ahmed Asiri was released during pre-trial proceedings over lack of evidence.
The official said he is aware some will say the verdict has not touched everybody responsible.
"We will continue to encourage transparency in that regard. I can say what we have done, which is we were the first country to designate individuals under the Global Magnitsky Act and similar authorities - 17 individuals - right after, very shortly after this happened. We have designated others, including senior Saudi officials, and Qahtani, by the way, is one of those who we have designated."
When asked if it was a disappointment that people found by the United States to be somehow culpable have been exonerated, the official said, "So we encourage them and continue to press them to hold those responsible."
The official also noted that the United States knows the names of the five individuals sentenced to death, but it was up to the Saudi government to publicly release them.
In October 2018, Khashoggi went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents. Riyadh initially denied having any knowledge of Khadhoggi's whereabouts, but eventually admitted that the columnist was killed and his body dismembered inside the consulate.
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