Khashoggi murder: Top allies of Saudi Crown Prince named in new indictment

Charges sure to raise tensions between Ankara and Riyadh

One of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s key henchmen has been named in an indictment prepared by Turkish prosecutors pursuing justice for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saad Qahtani is the architect of Prince Mohammed’s notorious online harassment and intimidation operations, as well as the palace “fixer” who sought to silence dissident voices at home and abroad. He was named Wednesday among 20 suspects indicted in the murder of Khashoggi, who was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, then allegedly tortured, murdered, and dismembered by Saudi security officials with ties to Prince Mohammed’s royal court.

Another top official, former deputy Saudi intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri was also named in the indictment, which seeks prison sentences for him and Mr Qahtani on charges of “premeditated murder with monstrous intent,” according to a statement issued by the Istanbul prosecutor-general. The indictment seeks life sentences for the other 18 suspects, who are all in Saudi Arabia.

The indictment will likely heighten tensions between Ankara and Riyadh, which has cleared Mr Qahtani of any ties to the killing. Saudi officials say they have sidelined Mr Qahtani, but have provided no evidence, and dissidents say he continues to play a role as a mastermind of the kingdom’s clandestine efforts to stifle critical voices.

Just last month, an adviser to prince Mohammed posted a song to twitter praising Mr Qahtani in a bizarre gesture of support. After his acquittal late last year, Mr Qahtani, penned a poem celebrating his innocence.

“Right has dispelled darkness of the night of doubts,” he wrote. “Right, however long its absence, returns with promised victory.”

Khashoggi’s loved ones and colleagues still have few answers and little justice. Some 18 months after his murder the 59-year-old Khashoggi’s body has yet to be found. United States intelligence officials, independent analysts and Saudi dissidents believe prince Mohammed ordered the murder of the writer, who had become increasingly critical of the 34-year-old’s brutality and capriciousness.

The Saudi prosecutor, refusing to cooperate with the Turkish and United Nations investigators pursuing the case, in December last year handed death sentences to five suspects in the case and jailed three others, accusing them of assassinating Khashoggi as part of a rogue operation, while acquitting Mr Assiri.

The Turkish indictment was based on the suspect’s mobile phone records and entry and exit stamps, as well as witness testimony and data gleaned from the victim’s electronic devices.