Turkey has acquitted 26 Saudi defendants in connection with Khashoggi’s murder

Turkey has dropped charges against 26 Saudis accused of killing critical Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Turkish media reported that the men were acquitted following a decision by Turkish officials to accept the transfer of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder case to Saudi Arabia.

In April, after the trial of the perpetrators of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder began in Istanbul, the Turkish prosecutor demanded that the trial be transferred to Riyadh. The developments came days after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Turkey and met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated in October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. An Amnesty International report previously suggested that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was linked to the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.