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Saudi FM Rules Out Extraditing Suspects in Khashoggi Case


FILE - Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir speaks during a press conference at the end of the Arab summit in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, April 15, 2018.
FILE - Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir speaks during a press conference at the end of the Arab summit in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, April 15, 2018.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Sunday ruled out the extradition of suspects in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after Istanbul's chief prosecutor filed warrants for the arrest of two former senior Saudi officials.

Turkish officials said last week that the prosecutor's office had concluded there was "strong suspicion" that Saud al-Qahtani, a top aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and General Ahmed al-Asiri, who served as deputy head of foreign intelligence, were among the planners of Khashoggi's October 2 killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

"We don't extradite our citizens," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said when asked about the arrest warrants. He was speaking at a news conference at a Gulf Arab summit in Riyadh.

Last month, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned 17 Saudis, including Qahtani but not Asiri, for their role in Khashoggi's murder.

The Saudi public prosecutor has said the order to repatriate Khashoggi came from Asiri and that a travel ban has been imposed on Qahtani. Jubeir declined to confirm or deny whether the men were currently detained, referring the question to the Saudi public prosecutor.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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