Jamal Khashoggi: Murdered journalist's children 'given "blood money" by Saudis'

Slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi

The children of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have been given 'blood money' by the Saudi government as 'compensation' for the killing of their father, it is claimed.

Khashoggi's two sons and two daughters were said to receive up to tens of millions of dollars apiece, the Washington Post reports.

The negotiated deal includes million-dollar houses and monthly five-figure payments, the Post credits unnamed Saudi officials and people close to the family as saying.

It's reported that King Salman has approved the delivery of homes and monthly payments of Sh1 million ($10,000) or more to each siblings last year, as one former official described it as an acknowledgement that 'a big injustice has been done' and an attempt 'to make a wrong right'.

Khashoggi, a contributing columnist at the Post who criticised the regime of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, last October.

An anonymous Saudi official said the payment 'is part of our custom and culture' and is regarded as the country's long-standing practice of providing financial support to victims of violent crime or natural disasters.

He added such gesture has no suggestion the Khashoggi family would be obligated to remain silent.

It is claimed the four children were given houses in Jiddah, a major port city in western Saudi Arabia, worth as much as Sh400 million ($4 million) each.

On March 28, a United Nation human rights expert condemned the Saudi government for holding 'secret hearings' for 11 suspects accused in the murder of the journalist.

Agnes Callamard called on Saudi authorities to reveal the defendants' names, the charges and the fate of 10 others initially arrested.

"The current proceedings contravene international human rights law according to which the right to a fair trial involves the right to a public hearing," Callamard said in a statement.

The Saudi public prosecutor indicted 11 unidentified suspects in November, including five who could face the death penalty on charges of ordering and committing the crime.

The CIA and some Western countries believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, ordered the killing, which Saudi officials deny.

It is claimed that Khashoggi's body may have been burned in a specially-burnt tandoori oven, at the home of the Saudi consul-general in Istanbul.

The large furnace, which could withstand temperatures of more than 1,000C, was constructed weeks before the journalist's death, according to a documentary by Al Jazeera.

A large amount of meat was burned in the oven afterward to cover up what had happened, it is alleged.

The oven was seen burning in the aftermath of Khashoggi's disappearance, and Turkish authorities believe the body was destroyed over three days, the investigation found.