International reactions regarding the decision taken by the Saudi judiciary on Monday in the case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the Saudi embassy in Turkey, varied.
While Turkey described the decision as a "scandal", the United States and the United Arab Emirates welcomed the Saudi decision and considered it an indication of integrity, while the United Nations called for "an independent and impartial investigation" into the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Khashoggi was killed at the headquarters of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in early October of last year.
"The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the need for an independent and impartial investigation into the murder to ensure full scrutiny of human rights violations in the case and the accountability of the perpetrators," spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
Dujarric added: "The Secretary-General reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to ensuring freedom of expression and the protection of journalists, as well as our constant opposition to the implementation of the death penalty."
Earlier today, a Saudi court issued a preliminary death sentence of 5 (unnamed) persons among 11 defendants, 3 of them were also punished with varying prison sentences totaling 24 years, and a disciplinary punishment was imposed on 3 other convicts for not having been found guilty, which means acquitting them .
For its part, the United States considered the Saudi court sentenced five Saudis to death for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, "an important step."
A senior official told reporters that "today´s rulings are an important step for every responsible for this terrible crime" to pay for what he committed. While Turkey and many human rights organizations have harshly criticized the court´s decision acquitting two of the main suspects, the US official asked Riyadh for "more transparency."
For its part, the United Arab Emirates considered the rulings of the Saudi judiciary as "an affirmation of Saudi commitment and its commitment to implement the law in a transparent and fair manner, and holding all those involved in this case accountable within procedures that were clear, reliable and in a manner that guarantees all legal rights to all parties," as the UAE Foreign Ministry said.
But Turkey, which Khashoggi was killed on its soil (at the Saudi embassy), described the Saudi court’s decision in the Khashoggi case as a “scandal”
The director of communications of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the ruling issued by a Saudi court regarding the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a "scandal" and came "after months of secret hearings."
Fakhruddin Alton said: "Those who sent a death squad to Istanbul on a private plane, signed Khashoggi´s death warrant, and concealed the body of the murdered journalist and sought to obscure the features of the murder, were granted immunity," according to the official Anatolia news agency.
"To claim that a handful of intelligence agents committed this crime is a mockery of the intelligence of the world," Alton said.
A spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey, Omar Glick, has stated that the Saudi court’s decision on the issue of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is unsatisfactory and confirms that his country´s concerns were right.
This came in a press conference held by Glick today, Monday, during the party´s central executive committee meeting in the capital, Ankara.
Glick called for transparency in the investigations of Khashoggi’s murder and the establishment of a respected judiciary with the "necessity of holding a court of higher court standards in Istanbul under the supervision of international institutions."
"We had hoped that the Saudi court´s decision (on the death of Khashoggi) would meet the words mentioned in the UN report," he added.
Earlier today, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hami Ahsavi, said that the decision issued by the Saudi judiciary in the case of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is far from meeting the aspirations.
"The fact that important details remain under wraps, such as the fate of the body of the late Khashoggi, and the identification of the instigators to kill him and the local collaborators, if any, are a fundamental deficiency in the manifestation of justice and the principle of accountability," said the spokesman.
