Death of Khashoggi: Saudi refused to extradite suspects to Turkey
The Turkish justice issued orders of arrest on two important officials of the oil monarchy, with an accusation similar to the one that already weighed on 15 members of the squadron that travelled for the brutal murder of the journalist
The Saudi monarchy refuses to extradite to Turkey those suspected of involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, the kingdom’s foreign minister, Adel al Jubeir, said on Sunday in response to Ankara’s request.
“We do not extradite our citizens,” Jubeir announced at a press conference in Riyadh. Turkey had called on Wednesday for the arrest of two close friends (Crown Prince) Mohamed bin Salman, for the October 2 assassination of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
On December 5, the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant against two Saudi officials, Ahmed Asiri and Saud al Qahtani, for their alleged links to the murder of the dissident journalist.
The indictment considers both guilty of “intentional and premeditated murder with savage spirit or inflicting torment,” Turkish agency Anadolu reported.
The same accusation, with a request for extradition, already weighs on the 15 members of the Saudi team that arrived on October 2 in Istanbul to kill Khashoggi, as well as three employees of the consulate who left Turkey after the crime.
“The investigations in the case of Khashoggi’s murder continue according to the procedures of the Saudi justice system, and also the laws in Turkey prevent the extradition of the accused to other countries, like Saudi Arabia,” the Saudi foreign minister said.
He asked Turkey to “present official information on the case of the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, and we are open to any evidence that any country has to help in our investigations.”
