Saudi prosecutor seeks death sentences as Khashoggi murder trial opens

All 11 accused were present with their lawyers at the opening hearing in the capital, according to a statement by the attorney general carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The attorney general said Saudi Arabia had twice submitted formal requests for evidence from Turkey but had received no response. 

The names of the 11 defendants have not been officially released.

Khashoggi, a contributor to the Washington Post, was murdered on 2 October inside the Saudi embassy in Turkey.

After repeatedly denying knowledge of the journalist's whereabouts for almost two weeks, Saudi authorities finally acknowledged that Khashoggi had been killed.

Riyadh initially claimed, however, that Khashoggi had died in a scuffle at the consulate, later alleging that the writer had been murdered in a rogue operation.

The 59-year-old Saudi insider-turned-critic was strangled and his body cut into pieces by a team of 15 Saudis sent to Istanbul for the killing, according to Turkish officials.

There have been reports that his remains, which have never been found, were dissolved in acid.

The consulate and the residence were searched by the Turkish authorities in October along with several other locations.

Ankara has sought the extradition of the suspects in Saudi custody to stand trial in Turkey but its requests have been repeatedly rebuffed by Riyadh.

The US Central Intelligence Agency has reportedly concluded that the kingdom's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, very likely ordered Khashoggi's murder.

The killing has led to an international backlash against the powerful crown prince, although Riyadh insists Prince Mohammed was not involved in the murder.

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