Khashoggi Verdict: No death penalty for accused in final Saudi ruling

A group of men convicted of killing Saudi government critic Jamal Khashoggi won’t get the death penalty after Saudi authorities issued final sentences ranging from seven to 20 years in prison.

Five of the men had been sentenced to death last year, but Khashoggi’s son announced in May that his family had forgiven the killers, paving the way under Islamic legal interpretations for a less severe punishment.

In the final rulings announced on Monday, five men were sentenced to 20 years in prison, one was condemned to 10 years and two were given seven-year terms, according to a statement from the public prosecutor published by the official Saudi Press Agency. Their names weren’t released.

Khashoggi’s 2018 killing by Saudi agents at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul drew global condemnation, but the outcry gradually faded. Prior to the pandemic, delegations from around the world descended on Riyadh for events leading up to the Group of 20 summit, which the kingdom is hosting in November.

Read: Saudi court sentences five to death in Khashoggi murder case