On 23 December 2019, a Saudi Arabian court sentenced five officials to death and three others to 24 years in prison. Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director Lynn Maalouf stated that Saudi Arabia's verdict against the officials was a "whitewash". In a statement released, she said, "The trial has been closed to the public and to independent monitors...the verdict fails to address the Saudi authorities’ involvement." On 22 May 2020, Khashoggi's children pardoned the five officials, which means they will be set free rather than executed.