Saudi Arabia has sentenced 5 people to death for the murder of journalist and U.S. permanent resident, Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Deputy Public Prosecutor Shaalan al-Shaalan announced in a televised press conference Monday.
A former top adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saud al-Qahtani was cleared after the court found no evidence against him. The court also dismissed charges against Ahmed Al-Assiri, a former deputy intelligence chief and Mohammed al-Otaibi, the consul general in Istanbul where Khashoggi's murder took place.
Both al-Qahtani and al-Otaibi were sanctioned by the U.S. government for their alleged involvement in the murder of the journalist.
The five were sentenced to death for "committing and directly participating" in the murder of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year. Three other people were sentenced to a combined total of 24 years in prison for their role in "covering up" the killing.
"May his soul rest in peace," a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.
According to the deputy public prosecutor, Shaalan al-Shaalan, their investigation found the murder was not premeditated and the suspects had agreed to kill Khashoggi after they discovered it would be to difficult to move him to another location.
Khashoggi, a journalist for the Washington Post and a U.S. permanent resident, was a vocal critic of Crown Prince Mohammed and was killed on Oct. 2, 2018 in the Saudi consulate in Instanbul. Saudi officials said at the time that 15 men were sent by its intelligence services to try and persuade Khashoggi to return to his home country. However, they ended up killing the journalist after he resisted.
The CIA concluded last year that Khashoggi's murder was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed, a claim that has been rejected by the Saudi government.