Saudi court sentences five to death over Khashoggi murder
Riyadh, Dec 23: Five people have been sentenced to death over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but two top figures investigated over the killing have been exonerated, Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor said Monday.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, was murdered in October last year in what Riyadh called a "rogue" operation, tipping the kingdom into one of its worst diplomatic crises and tarnishing the reputation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The 59-year-old Saudi insider-turned-critic was strangled and his body cut into pieces by a 15-man Saudi squad inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, according to Turkish officials. His remains have not been found.
"We found that Khashoggi's murder was not premeditated," Saudi deputy general prosecutor Shalaan al-Shalaan told a press conference.
Saudi prosecutors had said deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri oversaw Khashoggi's killing and that he was advised by the royal court's media czar Saud al-Qahtani.
However, Qahtani was investigated but not indicted "due to insufficient evidence" and Assiri was investigated and charged but eventually acquitted on the same grounds, the prosecutor said in a statement.
Both aides were part of Prince Mohammed's tight-knit inner circle and were formally sacked over the killing, but only Assiri appeared in the court hearings, according to Western sources.
Qahtani, who led fiery social media campaigns against critics of the kingdom and was seen as a conduit to the crown prince, has not appeared publicly since the murder and his whereabouts are a subject of fevered speculation.
Maher Mutreb, an intelligence operative who frequently travelled with the crown prince on foreign tours, forensic expert Salah al-Tubaigy and Fahad al-Balawi, a member of the Saudi royal guard, were among the 11 on trial, sources have told AFP.
It was unclear if they were among those who were sentenced to death.
The sources said that many of those accused defended themselves in court by saying they were carrying out orders by Assiri, describing him as the "ringleader" of the operation.
According to the prosecutor's statement, of the 11 unnamed individuals indicted in the case, five were sentenced to death, three face jail terms totalling 24 years, and the others were acquitted.
The Riyadh court hearing the case held a total of nine sessions attended by representatives of the international community as well as Khashoggi's family, it said.
The Khashoggi murder rattled the world at a time when Saudi Arabia and its de facto leader, Prince Mohammed, were pushing an aggressive public relations campaign to rebrand the ultraconservative kingdom as a modern state.
The United Nations and human rights groups have called for an independent investigation into the killing.
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Railways: FM Sitharaman allocates Rs 2.77 lakh crore for capital expenditure
New Delhi (PTI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday allocated Rs 2,77,830 crore to the Ministry of Railways for capital expenditure in the financial year 2026–27.
The Budget allocation includes the construction of new lines and the purchase of locomotives, wagons, and coaches, among other works.
The ministry had received Rs 2,52,000 crore in FY 2025–26. The current allocation for the upcoming financial year is 10.25 per cent higher, making it the highest ever. Besides, the ministry will get Rs 15,000 crore from Extra Budgetary Resources, the document showed.
According to the Budget document, the railways’ total earnings are projected at Rs 3,85,733.33 crore, while expenditure is estimated at Rs 3,82,186.01 crore, resulting in a surplus of Rs 3,547.32 crore at the end of the financial year.
"Since the railways' earnings are too meagre to fund asset creation and support new works, it receives funds from the government. Accordingly, the ministry has been allocated Rs 2,77,830 crore to undertake activities such as laying new lines, converting narrow gauge to broad gauge, and constructing double lines on single-line routes," a railway official said.
The Budget document has earmarked funds from the Rs 2,77,830 crore allocation for various construction and asset creation projects. These include Rs 36,721.55 crore for new lines, Rs 4,600 crore for gauge conversion, Rs 37,750 crore for doubling, Rs 52,108.73 crore for rolling stock (locomotives, wagons, etc.), and Rs 7,500 crore for signalling and telecom, among others.
The allocation under the signalling and telecom head is significant as the automatic train protection system, Kavach, falls under this department. The ministry has laid strong emphasis on expanding Kavach coverage across the rail network.
The document also presents the actual earnings and expenditure of the railways in 2024–25. During the year, railways earned Rs 3,35,757.09 crore and spent Rs 3,32,440.64 crore, recording a surplus of Rs 3,316.45 crore. The budgetary allocation for the year stood at Rs 2,51,946.56 crore.
"As far as FY 2025–26 is concerned, the actual figures for earnings and expenditure will be available only after the financial year ends,” an official said, adding that largely earnings and expenses are on expected lines with minor changes.
Out of the total expenditures of the railways, the biggest share goes on paying pensions to its employees.
According to Budget documents, expenditure on pensions was Rs 58844.07 crore in 2024-25, which is expected to rise to Rs 74500 crore in 2026-27.
