A Saudi Arabian court sentenced five people to death over the killing of dissenting journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey last year. Three others received lengthy prison sentences.

Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor said on Monday that five people received death sentences for their role in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

Three others were handed lengthy sentences amounting to 24 years in jail, reported Saudi Arabia’s state run Al-Ekhbariya TV channel, and two other top officials escaped sentencing.

“The court issued death sentences on five men who directly took part in the killing,” Shalaan al-Shalaan, Saudi deputy public prosecutor and spokesman, said in a statement after the trial that lasted for nine sessions and was held in near total secrecy.

Agnes Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur for extrajudicial executions, told DW she has identified many shortcomings with the trial.

“The chain of command was not investigated, and nobody above the hit men has been charged and has been prosecuted.,” she said on Monday.

She also said the trial “did not deliver justice” and it was “held behind closed doors, even though there was no reason under international law for holding such a trial behind closed doors”.

There was no breakdown of how the total amount of jail time was divided and the identity of those receiving sentences will be kept a secret. All of those charged will have the opportunity to appeal their sentences.

Those receiving jail terms were convicted “for their role in covering up this crime and violating the law,” said Shalaan. Those charged were found not to have premeditated the murder.