(Image source from: DailyMail)
Saudi Arabia's Public Prosecution revealed on Thursday that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered with "overdose" of a drug injected by a group of Saudi agents.
Khashoggi was "forcibly restrained and injected with a large amount of a drug resulting in an overdose that led to his death," the Public Prosecution said in a detailed press briefing on the results of the investigation into Khashoggi's death, Xinhua reported.
The investigation comprised 21 suspects, including five key offenders, who were urged by the Public Prosecution for the death penalty as a punishment for their direct roles in the slaying.
The statement said that the plot began on September 29 on an order to bring back Khashoggi by means of persuasion and if persuasion fails, to do so by force. The former Deputy President of the General Intelligence Presidency (GIP) issued this order.
The mission's leader formed a 15-member team which incorporates three groups for dialogues, intelligence, and logistics to carry and return the victim. The leader likewise asked a forensics expert to join the team for the intent of removing evidence from the scene in case force had to be used. The expert joined the team without the cognition of his superiors, said the statement.
A collaborator in Turkey was as well contacted to secure a safe location for transferring the slain journalist.
After surveying the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the negotiation team concluded it would not be possible to transfer Khashoggi to the harmless location. Then, the head of the negotiation team decided to murder the journalist if the negotiations fail, said the statement.
Five individuals killed Khashoggi with an injection of a large amount of a drug consequent in an overdose. Then the victim's body was dismembered by the individuals that committed the murder and transferred outside the consulate building, it added.
The investigation also identified the individual who wore Khashoggi's clothes after the murder and disposed of the victim's belongings in a trash receptacle, including his watch and glasses, after leaving the consulate building.
The investigation revealed that the leader of the mission agreed with the negotiation group to write a mendacious report that stated the victim had left the consulate after the failure of dialogue or forcing his return.
In a statement issued earlier on Thursday, Saudi Public Prosecutor requested death penalty for the five prime suspects in the case over charges accompanying ordering and committing the murder.
Khashoggi, a journalist for The Washington Post and a beefed-up critic of Saudi regime, disappeared on October 2 after getting into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey to acquire documents for his marriage, sparking a probe by the Turkish government and international pressure on Riyadh to reveal about his whereabouts.
Saudi authorities after initial denials admitted late earlier this month that Khashoggi was dead inside the consulate and 18 individuals in connection to the case were arrested.
By Sowmya
