A Turkish court confirmed Thursday to suspend the trial in absentia of 26 Saudis accused in the gruesome killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and for the case to be transferred to Saudi Arabia.
The judge told the court: "We decided to halt and hand over the case to Saudi Arabia."
The prosecutor said the case was "dragging" because, as the defendants were foreigners, the court's orders could not be carried out.
Khashoggi, a United States resident who wrote critically about Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), was killed on Oct. 2, 2018, at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. He had gone into the consulate for an appointment to collect documents required for him to marry his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz. He never emerged from the building.
Turkish officials alleged that Khashoggi was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw inside the consulate by a team of Saudi agents sent to Istanbul. The group included a forensic doctor, intelligence and security officers and individuals who worked for the crown prince's office. His remains have not been found.
The Istanbul court's decision comes amid warnings from human rights groups that turning the case over to the kingdom would lead to a cover up of the killing, which has cast suspicion on the crown prince.
Last week, the prosecutor in the case recommended that it be transferred to the kingdom, arguing that the trial in Turkey would remain inconclusive. Turkey's justice minister supported the recommendation, adding that the trial in Turkey would resume if the Turkish court is not satisfied with the outcome of proceedings in the kingdom. It was not clear, however, if Saudi Arabia, which has already put some of the defendants on trial behind closed doors, would open a new trial.
The court ruled to halt the trial in line with the Justice Ministry's "positive opinion," agencies reported.
Human rights advocates had urged Turkey not to transfer the case to Saudi Arabia, arguing that justice for Khashoggi would not be delivered by Saudi courts.
Meanwhile, Khashoggi's fiancee Hatice Cengiz said Thursday she would appeal the court's decision to hand to Saudi Arabia the case involving 26 suspects linked to his killing.
Turkey "is not ruled by a family like in Saudi Arabia. We have a justice system that addresses citizens' grievances," she told journalists outside Istanbul's main court. "We will appeal the decision in line with our legal system."
"We will continue this (judicial) process with all the power given to me, as a Turkish citizen," she told reporters outside the courthouse.
"The two countries may be making an agreement, the two countries may be opening a new chapter ... but the crime is still the same crime," she said.
"The people who committed the crime haven't changed. Governments and states must have a principled stance."
The slaying sparked international outrage and condemnation. Western intelligence agencies, as well as the U.S. Congress, have said that an operation of such magnitude could not have happened without the knowledge of the prince.
Turkey, which had vowed to shed light on the brutal killing, began prosecuting the defendants in absentia in 2020 after Saudi Arabia rejected requests for their extradition. The defendants included two former aides of the prince.
Some of the men were put on trial in Riyadh behind closed doors. A Saudi court issued a final verdict in 2020 that sentenced five mid-level officials and operatives to 20-year jail terms. The court had originally ordered the death penalty, but reduced the punishment after Khashoggi's son Salah, who lives in Saudi Arabia, announced that he forgave the defendants. Three others were sentenced to lesser jail terms.
Saudi Arabia has always insisted that its legal process, carried out behind closed doors, has been completed and there is no need for further arrests. A Saudi court in 2020 jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years over the killing in a trial critics said lacked transparency. None of the defendants was named.
Following the Saudi trial, the Turkish court asked the Justice Ministry in November to send a letter to Riyadh asking about those who had been sentenced in the kingdom, to avoid the risk of them being punished twice.
The Turkish prosecutor said Saudi authorities responded by asking for the case to be transferred to them and for the so-called red notices against the defendants to be lifted.
Riyadh also pledged to evaluate the accusations against the 26 defendants if the case was transferred, the prosecutor said.
The murder had plunged ties between Ankara and Riyadh into a crisis. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the time said the order to kill "came from the highest levels" of the Saudi government though he never named the powerful crown prince.
Nevertheless, Turkey has been seeking to repair ties with regional rivals such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the past two years.