PHOTO: File: Omar Shagaleh/Anadolu

A Turkish court is set to open the trial of 20 Saudi officials indicted over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

Iran Press/Asia: The trial will begin at Istanbul province's main court in the district of Caglayan at 10 am local time (07:00 GMT) on Friday morning, officials at the Istanbul prosecutor's office told Al Jazeera.

On Oct 16, 2018, Turkish media reported that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by being gradually dismembered by a Saudi assassination squad tied to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman inside the Saudi consulate.

Jamal Khashoggi audio leaks show he was killed within minutes of entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Khashoggi, 59, an outspoken critic of Mohammed bin Salman, disappeared after he entered the Saudi diplomatic mission in the Turkish city on October 2 to complete some paperwork for his forthcoming marriage.

After 18 days of silence and rejecting claims that Khashoggi was killed, the Saudi government finally bowed down to international pressure on October 20th and claimed the prominent journalist was killed in a fist-fight inside Istanbul consulate.

Riyadh claims that the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge about any murder plot.

Khashoggi's killing has put mounting pressure on Riyadh and Mohammad Bin Salman and undermined them.

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