EU) rejects death sentences in case of Saudi journalist Khashoggi

Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor said on December 23rd that five people were sentenced to death for Khashogg's murder.

His assassination, in late 2018 at Istanbul's Saudi consulate, has sparked international reactions.

The European Union is unequivocally against the death penalty at all times and without exception”, EU Foreign Policy spokesman Peter Stano said through a statement.

The death penalty for humans is a “cruel and inhuman condemnation, which fails to act as a preventor and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity”, the statement said.

US intelligence services concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, ordered the murder of journalist Khashoggi.

Riyadh blamed the incident, Saudi intelligence officials.

The EU also stressed the need to prosecute all those involved in the murder.

“This should be based on the principles of transparency, respect for legal procedures and the proper” process, spokesman Stano said.

Agnes Callamard, a special United Nations rapporteur for extra-trial executions, called the Saudi act a” “fartes” that failed to identify “that provoked and allowed the murder, such as the Crown Prince”.

Khashoggi was last seen on October 2, 2018, entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had written to obtain personal documents. His body was reported to be crushed inside the building. His bones were not found.

He was a U.S. resident and columnist of the American newspaper Washington Post.

Khashogg was a critic of the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.