A Turkish court has decided to suspend the trial in absentia of 26 Saudis accused of the horrific murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and transfer the case to Saudi Arabia, AP reports.

The decision was made despite warnings from human rights groups that turning the case over to the kingdom would lead to a cover-up of the murder.

Turkey, which is experiencing an economic downturn, is trying to restore its difficult relations with Saudi Arabia and several other countries in the region. The media wrote that Riyadh set a condition - the improvement of relations depends on the termination of the case against the Saudis by Turkey.