Jamal Khashoggi murder a 'rouge operation' by govt agents: Saudi foreign minister

The murder of Khashoggi, a prominent journalistn and a critic of the Saudi government, apparently strained relations between the Saudi Arabia and the US. The Western media has dubbed this Asia tour of the crown prince as a image-refurbish tour.

Speaking to NDTV, Al-Jubeir said: "His Royal Highness does not need to refurbish his image because his image is not tarnished. He had nothing to do with this. He did not give the order. This was a rogue operation, these were individuals who are Saudi government agents who acted outside their authority."

Al-Jubeir was in India as part of Mohammed bin Salman's delegation.

On October 2 last year, Khashoggi had walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and never left. Saudi Arabia maintains he was murdered inside on the orders of a rogue intelligence officer, Turkish officials claim to have evidence -- including audio recordings -- indicating that the journalist was killed by Saudi agents on orders that came from the highest reaches of the country's administration. The Saudi authorities have not released his body.

The Saudi foreign minister said: "(We have) levelled charges against 11 of those detained. Five are now facing the death penalty. The trials began in early January, and we will make sure that those behind this crime are punished."

"The principle in law is 'innocent until proven guilty', but in this case it's guilty and will not be proven innocent. But, in the end, this was a crime committed by people who exceeded their authority," Al-Jubeir told NDTV and said the Saudi authorties were trying to ensure such incidents did not recur.

Image Credit: Hatice Cengiz Twitter page