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Riyadh (AFP) – Saudi King Salman praised the judiciary on Monday, during his first public address since the assassination of critic Jamal Khashoggi, who plunged the country into one of the most worst international crises.
On October 2, the Attorney General exonerated the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of his involvement in the assassination of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, but the CIA reportedly found that he had ordered the 39; assassination.
The prosecutor claimed the death sentence against five men, announced the indictment of 11 people and reported that a total of 21 people were in custody in connection with the murder.
"The kingdom was founded on the Islamic principles of justice and equality, and we are proud of the efforts of the judiciary and the prosecution," said the king in his annual speech to the Shura Council. One of the main advisory bodies.
"We are making sure that our country will never deviate from the application of the law of God and … justice in the service of justice," said the 82-year-old monarch, without directly addressing the murder of the chronicler of the Washington Post in his speech.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, who has described Saudi Arabia as "a true spectacular ally", has refrained from blaming Prince Mohammed, despite reports by the CIA that he was at the origin of the murder.
Saudi Arabia – which quickly rejected the CIA's findings – recounted what had happened. He first stated that Khashoggi had left the embassy after receiving his documents and that he was later killed after a degenerate fight.
In the latest version, the Saudi prosecutor said that a 15-member team had gone to Istanbul to bring Khashoggi back into the kingdom "by persuasion", but had killed him during the course of his life. 39, a dishonest operation.
The United States has punished 17 Saudis for the crime, including Prince Mohammed's close aides, and is expected to draw final conclusions this week on the assassination.
As a sign of new international pressure, Germany announced on Monday that it would ban 18 Saudis from entering its territory and into the European zone without a Schengen passport because of their alleged links to the killing.
