MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th December, 2019) A prominent human rights watchdog�criticized on Monday the ruling of a Saudi court in the trial over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder as a deliberate attempt to cover up incriminating evidence based on a non-transparent probe and its failure to address the involvement of the country's leadership in the assassination.
Earlier in the day, 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 the The Washington Post columnist, who went missing in October 2018 after entering the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Riyadh initially denied having any knowledge of the journalist's whereabouts but eventually admitted that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the embassy. The remaining three of the 11 people on trial were acquitted.
"The verdict fails to address the Saudi authorities' involvement in this devastating crime or clarify the location of Jamal Khashoggi's remains," Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's middle East Research Director, said, calling the ruling "a whitewash."
The public and independent monitors were barred from the trial and were given almost no information about the investigation, she added.
"Saudi Arabia's courts routinely deny defendants access to lawyers and condemn people to death following grossly unfair trials. Given the lack of transparency from the Saudi authorities, and in the absence of an independent judiciary, only an international, independent and impartial investigation can serve justice for Jamal Khashoggi," Maalouf said.
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour, in turn, said that the verdict was the part of "ongoing mockery of justice" in Saudi Arabia.
"Conducting a sham trial for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and sentencing five people to death shows that the Saudi government under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is committed to an ongoing mockery of justice. The international community, including the U.S., must not allow Saudi Arabia to keep evading justice in the Khashoggi case," Mansour stated, as quoted by a CPJ press release.
A United Nations-led investigation concluded in February that Khashoggi's killing was premeditated and perpetrated by Saudi officials. The Saudi monarchy has denied any role in the journalist's death, saying he was killed in a rogue operation.
