Cairo: Saudi Arabia has called for the immediate release of a citizen reportedly detained in France over suspicion of involvement in a 2018 murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi and said he has no link to the case.
The Saudi embassy in France said regarding media reports about the arrest of a Saudi citizen suspected of connection to Khashoggi’s case that the man has no link to the case.
The mission called for the suspect’s release, saying all defendants in the case have already been put on trial and received penalties in Saudi Arabia.
“The Saudi judiciary issued rulings for everyone found to have participated in the case of citizen Jamal Khashoggi. They are currently serving their terms,” the embassy said, according to Saudi newspaper Okaz.
Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey in October 2018.
A Saudi court found eight Saudis guilty of involvement in 2019 and sentenced five of them to death, later commuted to 20 years in prison each. Three others were handed down jail terms ranging from seven to 10 years.
French police Tuesday arrested at Charles de Gaulle in Paris a Saudi man suspected of involvement in the murder, according to media reports.
The 33-year-old is thought to be one of 26 Saudis that Turkey claims were linked to Khashoggi’s killing.
