Jamal Khashoggi killing: eight sentenced and case closed

Five people sentenced to 20 years in prison for involvement

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2014 file photo, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks during a press conference in Manama, Bahrain.  Briarcliff Entertainment said Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020, that it has acquired “The Dissident” a documentary about the murdered journalist and will release it theatrically and via on-demand in late 2020 to coincide with the second anniversary of Khashoggi’s death. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)
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Saudi Arabia’s Public Prosecution sentenced eight people for their roles in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Five people were sentenced to 20 years in prison for their involvement in the killing, the Public Prosecution said.

Three received 10-year terms and two of those will serve another seven years each.

The Public Prosecution said the criminal case had been closed, the Saudi state news agency Spa reported.

Khashoggi was killed while visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building but his remains have not been found.

The Saudi government said the journalist was killed in a "rogue operation" and the following year prosecutors put 11 unidentified people on trial.

Khashoggi was living in the US and writing for The Washington Post newspaper.

Salah Khashoggi, his son, in May said that he would not accept the exploitation of his father’s case by his country’s “opponents and its enemies".

“I repeat what I have said in the past: I have absolute confidence in the kingdom’s judiciary, in its ability to retrieve justice from the perpetrators of this heinous crime," Salah said.

"And I will be as Jamal Khashoggi was, loyal to God, then to my country and its leadership."