Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for five of the 11 people it has charged over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, in a case that has drawn a barrage of criticism of the kingdom and strained ties with the U.S.
Riyadh released more detail Thursday about how Khashoggi, a government critic, was killed inside Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 by a team of operatives sent from Riyadh, an incident that has provoked a global uproar against the kingdom.
The U.S. Treasury took its own action Thursday, leveling sanctions at 17 Saudi officials.
Saudi Arabia launched its own investigation into the killing of Khashoggi. A spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor, Shalan al-Shalan, on Thursday didn’t name the 11 people charged and said another 10 people remain under investigation. All of them are in custody. The five people who face the death penalty confessed to their involvement in the killing.
Read: Khashoggi’s last words on tape: ‘I’m suffocating … Take this bag off my head’
Khashoggi’s murder has subjected Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s day-to-day leader, to intense scrutiny over his possible involvement in the operation, which he has denied.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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