Saudi Arabia on Sunday ruled out extraditing suspects in the Jamal Khashoggi case to Turkey, the country’s foreign minister said.
“We don’t extradite our citizens,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a news conference during the 39th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting when asked about arrest warrants issued by a Turkish court, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Al-Jubeir said the suspects have been referred to the Saudi prosecutor’s office but didn’t comment on the legal process, underlining that the prosecutor’s office has its own spokesman.
In addition, he said Saudi Arabia is open to any evidence to help the investigation and will announce every detail in the case.
An İstanbul court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for Saud el-Qahtani, a top aide to the crown prince, and Ahmad al-Assiri, former deputy intelligence chief, for their alleged involvement in the killing of Khashoggi.
Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate General in İstanbul in early October.
After initially saying he had left the consulate alive, Saudi Arabia admitted weeks later that he was killed there, blaming his death on a group of rogue Saudi operatives.
Following a royal decree, Saudi Arabia dismissed five senior officials, including el-Qahtani and al-Assiri.
