Saudi Arabia has given 20-year sentences to five people charged with killing Jamal Khashoggi, as it issued final verdicts in the case.
Another person received a 10-year sentence, and two others were ordered to serve seven years.
Five of the people were spared from execution after Mr Khashoggi’s son, Salah Khashoggi, pardoned those involved in the killing in May – a moved labelled as a “parody of justice” by a UN expert.
Mr Khashoggi’s son pardoned those involved in his killing
The eight people convicted have not been identified.
The trial in Saudi capital Riyadh was criticised by rights groups and an independent UN investigator, who said no senior officials, nor anyone suspected of ordering the killing, were found guilty.
The independence of the court was also questioned.
Mr Khashoggi had written critical articles about Saudi’s Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, for the Washington Post.
He lived in exile in the US for around a year while Saudi Arabia cracked down on human rights activists, writers and those criticising the kingdom’s war in Yemen.
He was killed in October 2018 when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to pick up documents for his upcoming wedding, as his fiancee waited outside.
Saudi’s Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, denies having any knowledge of the plot
The kingdom initially denied he was murdered, but after changing explanations eventually blamed his death on a “rogue operation”.
Turkey said 15 Saudis had waited for Mr Khashoggi inside the consulate, including a forensic doctor, intelligence and security officers, and individuals working for the crown prince’s office.
His body is believed to have been dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have never been found.
Turkish intelligence authorities had bugged the consulate and said recordings revealed details of the gruesome killing, with Mr Khashoggi’s final words apparently being: “Don’t cover my mouth. I have asthma, don’t do it. You’ll suffocate me.”
They said an operation of this size couldn’t have happened without the crown prince knowing, however he has always strongly denied having any knowledge of it.
