(ANSA) - ISTANBUL, SEPTEMBER 7 - The judges of the trial in Saudi Arabia for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul have definitively sentenced 5 defendants to 20 years in prison and another 3 to sentences between 7 and 10 years.
This was announced by the Riad prosecutor's office, quoted by Al Arabiya.
In May, the former Washington Post columnist's family said they "forgive" the killers, paving the way for a review of the first-degree death sentence imposed on five defendants.
The announcement came in the last hours of the month of Ramadan, in line with the Islamic tradition that allows similar gestures of death, accompanied by strong controversy over the previous transfers by the authorities of the Kingdom of money and other goods to the reporter's children.
Khashoggi was killed in the Riyadh consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018. His remains have never been found.
The Saudi government spoke of an unauthorized operation of diverted services, denying any involvement of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who instead ended up in the crosshairs of CIA suspects and UN experts, as well as Turkey.
In July a trial in absentia was opened against 20 Saudis in Istanbul, accused of having been part of the 'death squad' sent by Saudi Arabia (ANSA).
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