Jamal Khashoggi murder perpetrators should be tried, says investigator

Jamal Khashoggi

Geneva (Switzerland): A UN investigator on Thursday urged United Nations to provide justice to slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, recommending that the "perpetrators" and the "masterminds" behind the murder should be "tried".

Agnes Callamard, an academic who leads an international probe into the killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, is expected to release her findings to the United Nations Rights Council before its next session in June.

"My report is ... going to spend a lot of time and pages on the next steps and the recommendations and how we provide accountability to Mr Khashoggi, to his family, friends and colleagues," Callamard told Al Jazeera on Thursday.

It will examine how "we ensure that the killing, and the vacuum the killing generated in terms of accountability, [so] that we take steps to address the vacuum", she added.

"I am not a court of law. I cannot try the perpetrators. I can provide the information, I can recommend that the perpetrators and the masterminds be tried, but I cannot do that myself," Callamard said.

"You have to wait a few more months as I go through the various options, but you will find that in the report."

According to US intelligence agencies, Khashoggi's murder was enacted upon orders given by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. However, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly rejected all the allegations against its Crown Prince, adding that it is committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Meanwhile, prosecutors are seeking death penalty for five of the 11 people allegedly involved in Khashoggi's murder.

If the accused are convicted and given death penalties, the Saudi justice system would allow Khashoggi's family to grant mercy to the alleged murderers through the so-called "blood money" arrangement.

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