Turkey will recommend that a trial of 26 Saudi nationals charged in the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi be transferred to Saudi Arabia.

Bekir Bozdag, Turkey’s justice minister, said the government will recommend a court in Istanbul close the trial in absentia.

It came a day after a Turkish prosecutor requested the transfer in line with a request from the kingdom and amid attempts to improve relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Fears of a coverup

However, the move has raised fears of a possible coverup over the killing, which triggered international condemnation and raised suspicion over Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

A panel of judges hearing the case made no ruling on the prosecutor’s request on Thursday, but said it would seek the Justice Ministry’s opinion. The trial has been adjourned until 7 April.

“We will send our opinion today,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Mr Bozdag as saying. “We will provide a positive opinion concerning the transfer of this case.”

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Amnesty urges Turkey to continue with trial

Amnesty International has urged Turkey to continue with the trial, arguing the case would be covered up if it moved to Saudi Arabia.

Mr Khashoggi, a journalist who was critical of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, disappeared on 2 October 2018, after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

He never emerged from the embassy and Turkish officials alleged the Saudi national, who was a US resident, was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw inside the consulate by a team of Saudi agents.

His body has not been found.

Former aides to Saudi crown prince among those on trial

Turkey began prosecuting the 26 defendants in absentia in 2020 after Saudi Arabia rejected requests for their extradition. Among them were two former aides of the crown prince.

Saudi officials initially offered conflicting accounts around the killing, including claiming Mr Khashoggi had left the consulate unharmed.

Amid mounting international pressure they said Mr Khashoggi’s death was a tragic accident after the meeting unexpectedly turned violent.

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