Verdicts in Khashoggi murder case

At a trial shrouded in secrecy, a court in Saudi Arabia sentenced five men to death and three to prison on Monday over the 2018 killing of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It’s a major development in a case that has stoked international outrage and battered the image of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was once hailed as a reformer.

The sentences, which are subject to appeal, raise the possibility that the men could be beheaded — even as the kingdom shields the crown prince and his top aides, who foreign analysts say were probably behind the killing. An expert from the United Nations, which has previously accused the kingdom of covering up the murder, called Monday’s verdicts “the antithesis of justice.”

Background: Mr. Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year after he entered to obtain paperwork for marrying his Turkish fiancée. Saudi agents killed him and dismembered his body.

Details: The kingdom has long said the killing was a last-minute decision by rogue agents. But there is ample evidence — documented in a Times video investigation — that Saudi agents flew to Istanbul with the intent, and tools, to kill.