China says it has noted Saudi Arabia’s ruling on the case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and supports the Kingdom’s handling of the case, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Wednesday.
He also said that “this case can be properly handled under the Saudi judicial framework,” and is a matter of Saudi internal affairs that “should not be politicized and internationalized,” in a statement posted on China’s Embassy to the Kingdom’s Twitter account.
Five people were sentenced to death and three more were given jail terms on Monday by Riyadh’s criminal court over the murder of Khashoggi last year. Khashoggi was killed when he visited the Saudi Consulate in October in Istanbul.
The three defendants given prison terms totalling 24 years were found guilty “for their role in covering up this crime and violating the law.”
No names were released for those who were convicted, as they could still appeal the ruling.
Saudi deputy public prosecutor and spokesperson, Shalaan Al-Shalaan, said the investigations proved there was no “prior enmity” between those convicted and Khashoggi.
“The investigation showed that the killing was not premeditated … The decision was taken at the spur of the moment,” he said.
He said that when the team saw that it would be impossible to transfer Khashoggi to a safe place to continue negotiating, they decided to kill him.