U.S. Sanctions 17 Saudi Officials Over Khashoggi Killing

*U.S. Treasury’s Saudi Sanctions Target Senior Crown Prince Adviser Saud Al-Qahtani And Subordinates

*U.S. Sanctions Block Property of Saudi Targets and Prevent Their Access to U.S., U.S. Markets

*U.S. Sanctions Also Prohibit U.S.-Tied Transactions with Targeted Saudi Officials

*U.S. Action Comes Amid Domestic Political Pressure for Stronger Sanctions Against Saudi Arabia

*U.S. Sanctions Also Hit Saudi Consul General for Istanbul Mohammad al-Otaibi and Saud Al-Qahtani Aide Mutreb

*U.S. Khashoggi-Related Sanctions Issued Under Human Rights Abuse Authorities

*U.S. Treasury Secretary: U.S. Continues to Work to “Ascertain All the Facts” of Khashoggi Killing

*U.S. Treasury Secretary: U.S. Will Hold Accountable “Each of Those We Find Responsible”

*U.S. Treasury Secretary: Saudi Government Must Act to End Targeting of Political Dissidents and Journalists

*U.S. Action Comes as Riyadh Prosecutor Says He Will Seek Death Penalty for Five of 11 People Charged by Saudi Government

(More to Come)

Previously…

RIYADH—Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for five of the 11 people it has charged over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, in a case that has drawn a barrage of criticism of the kingdom and strained ties with the U.S.

Riyadh released more detail Thursday about how Mr. Khashoggi, a government critic, was killed inside Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 by a team of operatives sent from Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia launched its own investigation into the killing, an incident that provoked global uproar against the kingdom. The murder has subjected Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s day-to-day leader, to intense scrutiny over his possible involvement.

Adel al-Jubeir, the kingdom’s foreign minister, said the investigation completely exonerated the crown prince.

“His Royal Highness the crown prince has nothing to do with this issue. This was a rogue operation,” Mr. al-Jubeir told reporters in Riyadh. He said the killing was carried out by individuals who acted beyond their authority. “For their mistakes they will pay the price,” the foreign minister added.

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor, Shalan al-Shalan, on Thursday didn’t name the 11 people charged and said another 10 people remain under investigation. All of them are in custody. The five people who face the death penalty confessed to their involvement in the killing.

The Saudi government has repeatedly said the crown prince had no knowledge of the operation, even though two of his closest aides are suspected of having been involved.

The two aides—Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, the former deputy head of Saudi intelligence, and Saud al-Qahtani, the prince’s former media adviser and right-hand man—were dismissed from their jobs last month.

Since Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance, Turkish officials have said the journalist was tricked into entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month and murdered, his body cut into pieces. The official Saudi version of events has changed over time.

Initially, Saudi authorities denied government employees played any role in Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance, claiming the journalist left the consulate shortly after he entered it. Then, on Oct. 20, the Saudi government for the first time acknowledged Mr. Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, citing the results of a preliminary investigation.

The Saudi government on Thursday offered its most complete version of events so far. Riyadh said the operation was ordered on Sept. 29 by Maj. Gen. Assiri, the then-deputy head of intelligence, who badembled a team tasked with returning Mr. Khashoggi to the kingdom. Mr. Khashoggi, who had been living in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since last year, was seen as a threat to national security.

The order was to return him voluntarily or by force, according to the spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor. The team of 15 people included people in charge of logistics, intelligence and negotiations aimed at persuading Mr. Khashoggi to return.

Mr. Qahtani, the crown prince’s media adviser, was involved in coordinating possible negotiations with the journalist, the spokesman of the public prosecutor said, referring to him by his previous role. Mr. Qahtani is under investigation and banned from traveling outside the country.

The public prosecutor’s spokesman suggested there was no top-down order to kill Mr. Khashoggi, an apparent attempt to further insulate the country’s leadership from the murder. Instead, he said there are indications the team leader on the ground in Istanbul prepared for a possible execution.

The team of operatives included a forensics expert who was responsible for covering up evidence in the event force had to be used against Mr. Khashoggi, the public prosecutor’s spokesman said. After Mr. Khashoggi entered the consulate, the team leader on the ground concluded the journalist couldn’t be persuaded to return and had to be killed.

The execution involved restraining the journalist and injecting him with a tranquilizer that led to his death by overdose. The body was dismembered in the consulate and the remains handed over to a local badociate, according to the public prosecutor’s office.

The team on the ground then submitted a false report to Gen. Assiri saying Mr. Khashoggi left the consulate after negotiations failed.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he was “not satisfied” with some of the explanations offered by the Saudi prosecutor, adding that Saudi Arabia must reveal who actually gave the order for Mr. Khashoggi’s killing.

Mr. Cavusoglu also disagreed with the Saudi prosecutor’s narrative that Mr. Khashoggi’s murder was decided on the ground.

“It was not a momentary decision to dismember this body, it was preplanned,” Mr. Cavusoglu said. “Necessary equipment was brought beforehand. It was planned how he will be killed and dismembered.”

Turkey has previously demanded to know the identity of the local badociate who Saudi investigators say helped dispose of Mr. Khashoggi’s body. It has also urged the kingdom to reveal the location of the body and to turn over suspects in the case to Turkey for prosecution.

Mr. Cavusoglu repeated those demands on Thursday.

Mr. Khashoggi’s son, Salah, on Thursday said on Twitter that a funeral for his father would be held from Friday to Sunday in his home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Write to Margherita Stancati at [email protected]