After two years of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, the court declared jail for the convicts between a period of seven to twenty years.
Four months ago Jamal’s family had forgiven the killers and enabled death sentences to be set aside.
Reports say that five people were handed 20 years of prison sentences, one person was sentenced 10-year imprisonment, and two were given seven-year sentences for the killing.
U.N officials and Human Rights campaigners condemned and denounced the trial by stating that his killers are still free.
Jamal was last seen with a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018, where he had to get some impending documents for his wedding. According to the reports his body was butchered and disposed of the building which was stated as the reason why his remains couldn’t be found.
After Jamal’s murder, the image of Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de facto ruler and son of King Salman, has been under a negative spotlight as the murder followed a global uproar.
Jamal’s family lawyer, Motasem Khashoggi, gave a statement after the court’s order that the family welcomes the “fair and deterrent” ruling and is satisfied by it.
Khashoggi also said, “The verdict is fair and deterrent to any criminal we as a family opted for applying (Islamic) Sharia laws since the beginning and there is no court in the world that applies sharia rules like in Saudi Arabia. We have delegated our command to God and to our rulers, who have fulfilled their promise, all our thanks, appreciation, gratitude and loyalty goes to them.”
However, Jamal’s fiancé, Hatice Cengiz, said the eight jailed were not the only ones responsible for the murder.
“The Saudi authorities are closing the case without the world knowing the truth of who is responsible for Jamal’s murder? Who planned it, who ordered it, where is his body?”, she added.
A US State Department official said the US had seen reports of the sentencing and was “closely monitoring Saudi legal processes”.
“We call on Saudi authorities to ensure that all involved in Khashoggi’s killing, which King Salman rightly labelled a ‘heinous crime,’ are held accountable,” the US official said on condition of anonymity.
Agnes Callamard, the U.N. special reporter, urged Saudi for an extrajudicial summary on arbitrary executions and also accused Saudi Arabia of making a “mockery of justice” by not punishing more senior officials who, she said, were behind the murder.
Agnes stated on Twitter that the trial was not fair or transparent and “the responsibility of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has not even been addressed.”
#JamalKhashoggi: Ces verdicts n'ont aucune légitimité légale ou morale, au terme d'un procès qui n'était ni équitable ni juste ni transparent. https://t.co/1PjUrWgFmz
— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) September 7, 2020
Adam Coogle, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, said the conviction of individuals “does not hide the fact that the Saudi legal process has shielded top officials from any and all scrutiny.”
“How can the regime be accused of the murder and at the same time it is responsible for the trial?” said Yahia Assiri, founder of London-based Saudi rights group ALQST.
“We still don’t know what happened to Khashoggi’s body, who wanted him dead or if there were local collaborators – which casts doubt on the credibility of the legal proceedings in KSA,” presidency communications director Fahrettin Altun said on Twitter, referring to Saudi Arabia.