TURKEY’s government will recommend that the trial in absentia of 26 Saudi nationals charged with the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi be transferred to Saudi Arabia, the  justice minister said today.

Bekir Bozdag’s announcement came a day after a Turkish prosecutor requested the move.

Judges hearing the case did not rule on the request on Thursday but said that they would seek the Justice Ministry’s opinion. The trial was adjourned until next Thursday.

Human rights organisations have raised fears of a cover-up in relation to Mr Khashoggi’s killing, which, according to a declassified US intelligence report, was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Moving the trial to the autocratic kingdom would dash any remaining hopes of those responsible for the 2018 assassination being brought to justice, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Thursday.
 
“The prosecutor’s request to close the court process in Turkey after 21 months of proceedings is extremely disappointing,” RSF Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu said.

“Handing the case over to Saudi Arabia would be a serious blow to any remaining chance of criminal justice for Jamal Khashoggi’s killers.

“We urge the Turkish courts to do their part to fight impunity for this horrific crime by seeing this case through.”

Mr Khashoggi was a vocal critic of the Crown Prince, the May 2018 arrest of Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul, who is now free, and the country’s Western-armed war on Yemen.

He entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 to pick up documents related to his imminent marriage.

Reports at the time said that Mr Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the building.