Turkish judiciary ‘fulfilled obligations’ in Khashoggi case, concludes top court

Turkey's Constitutional Court has provided the reasoning behind its decision to reject the application by Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi, regarding Turkey handing over Khashoggi's case to Saudi Arabia.

The high court emphasized that Turkey fulfilled its constitutional obligations, stating, "The defendants in the Khashoggi case were convicted in Saudi Arabia thanks to the efforts of Turkish judicial authorities."

The court's decision outlined the stages of the investigation and prosecution related to the murder and mentioned the absence of any bilateral agreement on judicial cooperation between the two countries.

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Spoliation of evidence

The court noted that the authorities initiated the investigation even before Khashoggi's death was confirmed and expressed a desire to examine the crime scene. However, Saudi authorities did not grant permission for such an inspection. It was also revealed that Saudi Arabia's Consul General in İstanbul, Mohammed al-Otaibi, had left the country.

The court referenced a special team from Saudi Arabia that arrived at the consulate to allegedly destroy evidence of the crime, which included deleting potentially crucial DNA evidence, making it impossible to find any significant evidence related to Jamal Khashoggi.

However, the court's decision mentioned that the Turkish authorities, through their persistent efforts, identified the 15 individuals who came from Saudi Arabia to assassinate Khashoggi. The court stated that the intense efforts of Turkish authorities and their determination to uncover the truth led to global awareness of the assassination.

The court further mentioned that following these developments, Saudi Arabia dispatched a chief prosecutor and an investigation team to Turkey to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

"No fault can be attributed to Turkish authorities"

The court clarified that Turkish prosecutors had opened cases against the individuals who were apprehended, and it summarized the process. It stated, "No fault can be attributed to Turkish authorities regarding the inability to conduct investigations that were not carried out in the consulate. Legal regulations provide for the existence of a serious offense in terms of exceptions related to the privileges and immunities granted to consulates."

Regarding the issue of transferring the case to Saudi Arabia, the court noted, "Despite the difficulties that the prosecution authorities faced in preparing the defendants due to the long time it took for their trial to take place, and taking into account Saudi authorities' reevaluations and the previous conviction decisions before the Turkish authorities' endeavors, the prosecution in Turkey ceased with the defendants to be tried in the relevant foreign country."

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In conclusion, the Constitutional Court found that Turkish judicial authorities had fulfilled their constitutional obligations regarding the right to life. The court stated, "In the context of the application as a whole, it has been concluded that Turkish judicial authorities have fulfilled all their constitutional obligations within the scope of the right to life, which necessitates effective international cooperation and the taking of all reasonable measures for the conduct of an effective criminal proceeding."

Background

The decision to hand over the Khashoggi case to Saudi Arabia in April last year coincided with a period of rapprochement between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which had been at odds over the murder of Khashoggi, who was a critic of the kingdom's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. 

Khashoggi was killed by a Saudi hit squad inside the Saudi consulate in İstanbul in 2018. Turkey launched an investigation and prosecution of the case, but faced obstacles from Saudi authorities who denied access to the crime scene and refused to extradite the suspects. 

In April 2021, Turkey dropped its case against the Saudi suspects and handed over the file to Saudi Arabia, which had already sentenced five people to death and three others to prison for their involvement in the killing. The move was seen as a gesture of goodwill by Turkey, which was seeking to improve its relations with the kingdom amid economic difficulties. 

In June 2021, bin Salman visited Turkey for the first time since the murder and held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The two leaders declared their intention to start a "new era of cooperation" in various fields, including trade, investment, defense, and tourism.

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(HA/VK)