Jamal Khashoggi was killed by a Saudi squad working under the command of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), U.S. intelligence agencies involved.
A U.S. non-classified intelligence report released Friday confirms for the first time what role U.S. intelligence officials believe Saudi Arabia’s de facto governor played in the 2018 killing of a person- Saudi news.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration withheld the long-awaited report despite a 2019 law passed by Congress calling for its release.
Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post newspaper that had been critical of the Saudi government, was killed inside a Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
Saudi officials have denied that MBS was involved in the murder.
White House officials said Biden’s administration would cite actions taken in response to Khashoggi’s murder after the report was released.
The U.S. intelligence community based its assessment that the Saudi Arabian crown prince approved the work because it had “control over decision-making in the Kingdom” and “the direct involvement of chief counsel and members or Mohammed’s defense details. bin Salman at work ”.
U.S. intelligence said MBS was “supporting brutal measures to defuse foreign dissidents, including Khashoggi”.
A security worker stands at the mouth of the Saudi Arabian consulate where the missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen in Istanbul, Turkey October 31, 2018 [File: Osman Orsal/Reuters]
“Since 2017, The Crown Prince has had complete control over the United Kingdom’s security and intelligence agencies, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out such activity without the consent of the Crown Prince, “The report said.
At the time of Khashoggi’s assassination, MBS “may have instigated an environment where supporters feared he could be shot or arrested,” the report said.
MBS saw Khashoggi as a “threat to the Kingdom,” he said.
The four-page report names 21 people who were or were otherwise involved in Khashoggi’s death. While work in Istanbul was planned in advance, U.S. intelligence authorities said they do not know when the decision was overturned.
“We do not know if these people knew in advance that the work would lead to Khashoggi’s death,” the report said.
At the U.S. Congress, politicians called for sanctions against those responsible for Khashoggi’s death including MBS.
“As the Crown Prince continues to show no remorse for his actions and to protect senior Saudi officials from accountability for his role in the assassination of Mr Khashoggi, the Biden Administration must follow this responsibility with a detrimental effect against all those responsible. parties, ”said Rep. Adam Schiff, Democratic chair of the House Information Committee.
A U.S. intelligence report said MBS supports the use of violent measures to defuse foreign dissidents including ‘Jamal Khashoggi’ [File: Middle East Monitor/Handout via Reuters]
Hassan El-Tayyab, legislative manager for the Friends of Quakers Committee on National Legislation in Washington, said the report would release MBS within Saudi Arabia.
“He still has a lot of support in Saudi Arabia, but I think he will weaken his career and hope that he can change his behavior – that’s exactly what we want – in terms of human rights activists on the part of Saudi Arabia inside and journalists inside Saudi Arabia, ”El-Tayyab told Al Jazeera
US-Saudi. Links
After the assassination of Khashoggi, the Trump administration remained steadfast with MBS and Saudi Arabia, one of the U.S.’s top friends in the Middle East, despite widespread demands for accountability.
Trump also failed to take action after the U.S. Senate adopted a resolution in 2018 holding the crown prince responsible for the assassination.
“You have to be blindly willing not to come to the conclusion that this was set up and organized by people who were led by MBS,” said Senator Lindsey Graham at the time.
The publication of the report is likely to strengthen calls from U.S. politicians for sanctions on Saudi officials and a tougher approach to U.S.-Saudi relations.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s new administration has taken steps to move Washington’s relationship with Riyadh, including an effort to end the civil war in Yemen.
Biden announced on Feb. 4 that it would suspend U.S. military support for a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen blaming on targeting civilians and causing a humanitarian crisis.
He named U.S. diplomat Timothy Lenderking as special ambassador for the Yemen conflict and pointed out that his administration would reject Trump’s designation of the Houthis linked to Iran as a terrorist organization.
Biden has also temporarily frozen the sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and firearms directed to Saudi Arabia pending a review.
Demanding accountability
UN rights groups and experts have for years called for MBS to be held accountable for Khashoggi’s murder.
Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on criminal killing, said in 2019 that the crown prince should oppose sanctions and freeze his assets while his role in the murder is reviewed #justiceforjamal .
#justiceforjamal pic.twitter.com/R3fdlMgwPL
– Hatice Cengiz / خديجة (@mercan_resifi) February 26, 2021
Cengiz and a rights group founded by Khashoggi filed a lawsuit in the US against MBS over the journalist’s heinous murder.
Filed in October 2020 in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, the lawsuit seeks damages from MBS and more than two dozen other Saudi top officials for Khashoggi’s murder.