Turkey and international rights groups have led condemnation of a Saudi court verdict over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying it failed to deliver justice.
Five people were sentenced to death on Monday over the brutal killing of the writer by a team of Saudi agents inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul last October, but two top aides to powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) - the de facto Saudi leader - were exonerated.
The Saudi prosecutor's office said a total of 31 people were investigated in connection with the killing, and that 11 people were charged. Three were handed jail terms totalling 24 years and the rest were acquitted. None of the defendants' names was immediately released.
"The investigation showed that the killing was not premeditated ... The decision was taken at the spur of the moment," Saudi Deputy Public Prosecutor Shalaan al-Shalaan said, a position contradicting the findings of a United Nations-led investigation.