Saudi Arabia overturns death sentences in Jamal Khashoggi killing

A court in Saudi Arabia on Monday overturned the death sentences handed to five people convicted over the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The kingdom’s prosecution said they were given 20-year jail terms because the journalist's family pardoned them four months ago, report BBC and Reuters citing Saudi Arabian state media.

Three others had their sentences of between seven and 10 years upheld. None of the defendants were named.

Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed inside the kingdom's consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul by a team of Saudi agents.

The Saudi government said the journalist was killed in a "rogue operation" and the following year Saudi prosecutors put 11 unnamed individuals on trial.

At the earlier stage of the trial, five were sentenced to death for directly participating in the killing; three were handed prison sentences for covering up the crime; and three were acquitted.

The trial was dismissed as "the antithesis of justice" by a UN special rapporteur, who concluded that Khashoggi was "the victim of a deliberate, premeditated execution" for which the Saudi state was responsible.

In May, the family of the slain journalist said they forgave his murderers, paving the way for a reprieve for the five defendants sentenced to death.

In Saudi Arabia, which lacks a codified legal system and follows Islamic law, forgiveness from a victim’s family in such cases can allow for a formal pardon and a stay of execution.