Seven human rights and press freedom groups are urging the United States, Britain and France to speak out publicly about the trial in Saudi Arabia of 11 people charged in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi which their diplomats are attending.
The groups said in letters to foreign ministers of the three countries obtained Friday that providing information and much-needed transparency "would enable some scrutiny of the fairness of the trial."
A global outcry was sparked by Khashoggi's grisly killing inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October by Saudi agents, in an operation directed by former top aides to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. She also warned that the five permanent U.N. Security Council nations invited to attend some court hearings -- the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China -- "risk being participants in a potential miscarriage of justice" and could be "complicit" if the trials turn out to involve violations of human rights law.
But they did say: "Concerned governments should take the necessary steps to ensure that they do not provide cover for what could be a sham trial."
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