Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi — the full case file

Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul; his body was never recovered. Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by a Saudi government hit squad inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018; his body was dismembered and never recovered, and the killing was later found by the CIA and a UN investigator to have been premeditated and ordered at the highest levels of the Saudi government. In June 2017, Jamal Khashoggi flees Saudi Arabia and begins self-imposed exile in the United States. In September 2017, Khashoggi begins contributing columns to The Washington Post's global opinions section. On September 28, 2018, Khashoggi visits the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents for his planned marriage; he is told to return on 2 October. On October 1, 2018, Khashoggi returns to Istanbul; a three-person Saudi team also arrives that day. On October 2, 2018, Khashoggi enters the Saudi consulate in Istanbul at 1:14 pm and is killed by a 15-member Saudi squad; he is reported missing after failing to leave by evening. On October 16, 2018, Turkish officials and The New York Times separately conclude the killing was premeditated. On October 20, 2018, Saudi Foreign Ministry acknowledges Khashoggi's death for the first time, initially describing it as resulting from a fight. On October 25, 2018, Saudi government admits the killing was premeditated but denies it was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. On November 15, 2018, Saudi Prosecutor's Office announces indictments against 11 Saudi nationals, with five facing potential death penalty. On November 16, 2018, CIA concludes with high confidence that Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination. In November 2018, United States imposes sanctions on 17 Saudi nationals over the killing; bin Salman is not sanctioned. In January 2019, Trials begin in Saudi Arabia against 11 defendants. In June 2019, UN special rapporteur Agnès Callamard's report concludes the killing was premeditated and calls for further criminal investigation. In December 2019, Saudi court acquits three defendants (including Saud al-Qahtani and Ahmed al-Asiri), sentences five to death, and three others to prison terms. On March 25, 2020, Turkish prosecutors indict 20 Saudi nationals over the killing. In May 2020, the five defendants sentenced to death are pardoned by Khashoggi's children. On July 1, 2020, a Turkish court opens trial in absentia of the 20 indicted Saudi nationals. On February 26, 2021, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines releases a declassified report concluding Mohammed bin Salman approved the operation to capture or kill Khashoggi. On April 7, 2022, a Turkish court orders the trial transferred to Saudi Arabia. On November 18, 2022, Biden administration asserts Mohammed bin Salman has immunity in a related US civil lawsuit. On December 6, 2022, a US federal judge dismisses the civil lawsuit against bin Salman on head-of-state immunity grounds, while finding allegations against him credible. The case is recorded as solved. This case file is kept in memory of Jamal Khashoggi. The full sourced case file, with every fact cited, is at casepin dot org.

Transcript from the video’s narration track. For every source, open the case file.