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In the report from two years ago, some of the information is depersonalized.
US intelligence concluded that the successor to the Saudi throne “approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Yamal Khashoggi.”
“Since 2017, the heir to the throne has had absolute control over the kingdom’s security and intelligence operations, so it is highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out this type of operation without the permission of the heir,” the report said.
The report identifies a 15-member Saudi strike force that has traveled to Istanbul. The document states that “very firmly” it can be said that these individuals were involved in the murder, although, it is added, it is not clear if they knew that the operation would result in the death of Khashoggi.
“The heir to the throne views Khashoggi as a threat to the kingdom and has generally supported the use of violent means when necessary to silence him,” the report said.
Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, who was once considered a man from the royal family but later became a critic of Riyadh, was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and his body was cut off.
The heir to the throne diligently denied any involvement in this brutal murder, even though several of his closest advisers were known to have contributed to it.
The administration of former US President Donald Trump, seeking closer ties with Riyadh, delayed the release of the intelligence report and avoided linking Bin Salman to the case.
The report was released by President Joe Biden in an effort to revive America’s ties to the Middle East and return human rights principles to the right place in American politics.
Before the report, Biden spoke by phone with Saudi monarch Salman, the father of Prince M. bin Salman, on Thursday. It was the first conversation between the two since Biden’s inauguration five weeks ago.
A respected Saudi journalist and editor, Khashoggi lived in voluntary exile in the United States, where he wrote articles critical of the heir to the throne.
The Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States told Khashoggi, 59, to go to the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul to obtain the necessary documents for a civil marriage with Turkish citizen Hatice Cengiz.
There, the journalist was assassinated and his body severed on October 2, 2018 by a team of strikers sent by Riyadh, led by Saudi al Qahtani, a senior adviser to the heir to the throne, M. bin Salman.
Disclaimers of liability
The heir to the throne denies ordering the journalist’s murder and claims to know nothing about it.
However, few observers believe that such a murder could have taken place without the knowledge of M. bin Salman. The heir to the throne, considered the most influential man in Saudi Arabia, sent many critics behind bars, including prominent clergymen, activists and members of the royal family.
Under intense pressure from the United States and the international community, the Saudi government has prosecuted some of those implicated in the killings.
During the trial, which took place behind closed doors, two high-ranking officials, Deputy Intelligence Chief Ahmed al-Assiri and Royal Palace Chief of Staff, S. al Qahtani, considered by many to be the main organizers of the assassination, were acquitted. Both belong to the immediate environment of the heir to the throne.
However, five unidentified defendants were sentenced to death and three more received severe prison terms.
Nine months later, the court commuted the death sentences to up to 20 years in prison.
The international organizations Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have described the trial as a “parody of justice.”
However, it eased the break for the Trump administration, which imposed sanctions on 17 suspects in the case, including the Qahtani. However, Mr. al Assiri was not on the sanctions list.
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