The United Nations human rights office today declared that it was unable to judge the fairness of the Saudi trial into the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, casting further doubt over the proceedings that kicked off Thursday. Renewing calls for an independent investigation with “international involvement,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the Saudis’ purported efforts to seek justice for the Oct. 2 slaying of the 60-year-old in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul were “insufficient.”
A Saudi prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for five of the 11 suspects in the murder. The UN said it was against the imposition of the death sentence.
