Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for five suspects charged in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as the kingdom tries to distance the crown prince from the issue.
Khashoggi, a royal insider turned critic of Saudi policy, was killed in the country's Istanbul consulate on October 2, after a struggle, by lethal injection, deputy public prosecutor and spokesman Shalaan al-Shalaan told reporters on Thursday.
Shalaan said de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman knew nothing of the operation, in which Khashoggi's body was dismembered, removed from the building and handed over to an unidentified "local co-operator".
Turkey, however, reacted with scepticism and a US senator said it was unbelievable that the killing could not have been carried out without orders. France's foreign ministry, meanwhile, said the investigation was proceeding in the right direction.
The case has sparked a global outcry and tarnished the image of Prince Mohammed.
Shalaan said Khashoggi was murdered after "negotiations" for his return to the kingdom failed, and that the killing was ordered by the lead negotiator after he decided it was unfeasible to remove him from the consulate.
Shalaan said the order to repatriate Khashoggi came from former deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Asiri, who was sacked last month.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been accused of cracking down on female activists. Source: AAP
He said Prince Mohammed "did not have any knowledge" of the killing, a stance reiterated by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who accused Turkey of ignoring Saudi requests for information.
The whereabouts of Khashoggi's remains are unknown, he said. His family is planning a weekend prayer service without his body.
Following Shalaan's account, the latest of Riyadh's shifting explanations, the US Treasury announced sanctions on 17 Saudis for their role in the killing, including Saud al-Qahtani, a former top aide to Prince Mohammed, and Istanbul Consul General Mohammed Alotaibi, a source familiar with the plan told Reuters.
The sanctions will be implemented under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuses and corruption.
"These individuals who targeted and brutally killed a journalist who resided and worked in the United States must face consequences for their actions," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement.
