Manama/Istanbul: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on Saturday said 18 people arrested over the killing of dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi will be prosecuted in the kingdom, while Turkey says it will seek the extradition of the suspects for a trial on its soil. “On the issue of extradition, the individuals are Saudi nationals.They’re detained in Saudi Arabia, and the investigation is in Saudi Arabia, and they will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia,” Adel al Jubeir (pictured) told a regional security conference in the Bahraini capital Manama. However, authorities in Turkey — where Khashoggi was killed earlier this month — have announced that they will officially demand the extradition of the 18 suspects from Saudi Arabia.
In a statement late on Friday, the Turkish justice ministry said Istanbul prosecutors have prepared a requisition for the suspects on charges of planned and deliberate murder with monstrosity and torture. “We expect that this request for return is met [by Saudi Arabia]. Because this heinous incident took place in Turkey, in Istanbul.Turkish authorities are capable of and determined to shed light on this incident,” Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul was quoted by official Anadolu Agency as saying. Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has not been seen since he walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. — DPA
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