DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia's top prosecutor said Thursday he's seeking the death penalty for five suspects charged with ordering and carrying out the killing of dissident Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.
The disclosures by the prosecution appear aimed at distancing the killers and their operation from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose decision-making powers have thrust him into the center of a global outcry over the killing.
Chief Saudi prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb's decision to seek the death penalty before trial is not unusual in Saudi Arabia.
Facing mounting international pressure, prosecutors also pointed the finger at two men who were part of the crown prince's inner circle, but stopped short of accusing them of ordering a hit on Khashoggi. The two are instead being accused of ordering Khashoggi's forced return in an operation the Saudis allege went awry.
In a press conference later Thursday, Sheikh Shalan al-Shalan, spokesman and deputy attorney-general, said the Oct. 2 killing was ordered by one man: the individual responsible for the negotiating team sent to forcibly bring Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia.
He did not disclose that individual's name, but said he was part of a 15-man team sent to Turkey comprised of three groups: negotiators, intelligence and logistics.
He said that on the morning of the killing, the leader of the negotiating team saw that he would not be able to force Khashoggi to return "so he decided to kill him in the moment."
This appears to contradict a previous Saudi statement quoting Turkish intelligence saying the killing had been premeditated.
Al-Shalan said that Khashoggi's killers had set in motion plans for the operation on Sept. 29 — three days before his slaying in Istanbul. He says the killers drugged and killed the writer inside the consulate, before dismembering the body and handing it over for disposal by an unidentified local collaborator. The body has never been found.
The brutal death of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who had been critical of the crown prince, has sent shock waves around the world and led analysts and officials to believe a sensitive operation of this magnitude could not have been carried out without the prince's knowledge.
Hours after the prosecutor's announcement, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters the crown prince had "absolutely" nothing to do with the killing.
"His royal highness the crown prince has nothing to do with this issue," he said.
Al-Jubeir said the kingdom is investigating and holding those responsible to account "to make sure this doesn't happen again."
"Sometimes mistakes happen ... sometimes people exceed their authority," he said.
The latest Saudi account of what took place failed to appease officials in Turkey, who insist the killing and its cover-up were carried out by the highest levels of government.