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Ex Aide to Saudi Crown Prince Among 20 Charged With Khashoggi Murder in Turkey

A former royal court adviser, Saud al-Qahtani, is accused of having “instigated premeditated murder with monstrous intent.”

Turkey has charged 20 Saudi nationals for their suspected involvement in the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018, including two powerful figures from the Saudi establishment. The New York Times reports that an indictment unveiled Wednesday accuses the former deputy head of Saudi Arabia’s general intelligence, Ahmed al-Asiri, and a former royal court adviser, Saud al-Qahtani, of having “instigated premeditated murder with monstrous intent.” Khashoggi’s brutal murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 shocked the world and caused lasting damage to the reputation of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The CIA has accused the crown prince of ordering the killing, but Saudi officials have repeatedly denied he was involved. In December, a Saudi court sentenced five people to death and three to prison over the murder, but a Saudi prosecutor said there was no evidence connecting Qahtani to the killing and the court dismissed charges against Asiri.