The Khashoggi case happened on a territory under the Saudi sovereignty, and will reach courts when all requirements are met, Saudi Arabia's justice minister said in a statement issued by state news agency SPA on Saturday.
Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council Sheikh Dr. Waleed bin Mohammad al-Samaani underscored that the judiciary enjoys full independence in the Khashoggi case, pointing out the case will take its regular course in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Samaani said that the directives given by Saudi King Salman in the wake of the tragic incident, are fully in line with the state's approach.
"We, as Saudi citizens, are proud and proud of our people, who have spared no effort in caring for the homeland and the citizens of this blessed country," he was quoted by Al Arabiya as saying.
Separately, he stressed that the Saudi judicial branch was founded on the principles of Islamic law and the values of justice upon which the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was built, "bearing in mind the application of the provisions of the Shariah which enjoins the implementation of justice and the realization of the right and the establishment of the values of justice."
The death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was confirmed by Saudi Prosecutor General Saud bin Abdullah Muajab after several weeks of speculation and reports that he could have been killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
While the investigation is still underway, Saudi authorities announced that he had died in a fight with people who met him in the consular premises. They said 18 Saudi nationals had been detained, and "all those involved in this case will be held accountable and will be brought to justice," the prosecutor general underscored.
Intelligence chief Ahmad Assiri and a number of other officials, including senior aide to the Saudi crown prince Saud al-Qahtani, were sacked amid the probe into the journalist's disappearance.
"King Salman directs formation of ministerial committee to restructure the presidency of the general intelligence," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Twitter.
READ MORE: Mideast States Voice Support for Saudi Arabia Over Khashoggi Case
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks the other day with Saudi King Salman, and the two agreed to continue cooperation in the probe. In the meantime, the Saudi consulate staffers testified to prosecutors as part of the investigation into the journalist's death, while Turkish police and prosecutors conducted searches in both the consulate premises and the consul's residence in Istanbul.
