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The crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman (35) approved the operation to capture or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi († 59) in October 2018, according to estimates by the US intelligence services. This emerges from a report that the office of the new US intelligence coordinator, Avril Haines, published in Washington on Friday.
Khashoggi was assassinated on October 2, 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a special command from Riyadh. There is still no trace of his body. Khashoggi lived in the US state of Virginia and wrote columns for the Washington Post, which often contained criticism of the Saudi monarchy.
The report claims that the US secret services based their assessment, among other things, on the fact that the Crown Prince has had “absolute control over the kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations” since 2017. Therefore, it is ” very unlikely “that government officials would have carried out such an operation without the Crown Prince’s permission. The direct involvement of a top Bin Salman adviser in the operation and his support for violent measures to silence dissidents abroad also speak in favor of such approval.
Entry restriction for 76 Arabs
Following the release of the US intelligence report on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the US State Department imposed entry restrictions on 76 citizens of Saudi Arabia. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Friday that they were believed to be “involved in threatening dissidents abroad” like Khashoggi.
Additionally, the US Treasury Department included Ahmed al-Asiri and the RIF of the Rapid Reaction Force on the sanctions list on Friday. Al-Asiri was the leader of the operation against Khashoggi in Istanbul, in which several members of the RIF participated. The United States government did not announce any punitive measures against the Crown Prince himself.
Criticism after the disappearance of the journalist
The new president of the United States, Joe Biden (78), called the Saudi King Salman for the first time on Thursday. Then the White House announced that Biden had told the King that he would work to “make bilateral relations as strong and transparent as possible.” The President of the United States had reaffirmed the importance that the United States attaches to human rights and the rule of law. The ad did not mention Khashoggi’s murder.
The leadership of the Islamic-conservative kingdom was exposed to harsh criticism after Khashoggi’s disappearance. She only admitted the murder under international pressure. The traces led to the closest circle of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who denied ordering the murder himself.
A UN human rights expert concluded in 2019 that there was credible evidence of possible personal responsibility of the heir to the throne and other high-ranking representatives of Saudi Arabia. A few weeks after the crime, the Washington Post reported that the US Secret Service had concluded with a high degree of certainty that the Crown Prince had ordered the assassination.
“Our government is focused on recalibrating the relationship”
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, had made billions in arms deals with Riyadh. The Republican was an important ally of the crown prince with a rather lax attitude towards the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia. Washington imposed sanctions on more than a dozen former Saudi government employees in connection with the journalist’s murder. Trump maintained his support for the royal family in Riyadh.
The government of Democrat Biden has made it clear that it will readjust relations with Saudi Arabia. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Thursday: “Our administration is focused on recalibrating the relationship.” During the election campaign, Biden had already promised a tougher course against Saudi Arabia and an end to US arms sales to the kingdom.
According to US media reports, shortly after taking office last month, the new US administration initially suspended such sales pending a review. In a departure from Trump’s strategy, the Biden administration also announced that it no longer wants to support the Saudi-led alliance’s fight against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Khashoggi fell from grace in 2017
Biden had already accused the crown prince during the election campaign of ordering the assassination of Khashoggis. Riyadh would “pay a price” for it and become an “outsider,” Biden said in November 2019. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price condemned Khashoggi’s murder as a “horrible crime” several times in the past. last days.
Khashoggi had close ties to the Saudi royal family for a long time, but later fell out of favor. In 2017 he went to the United States. From exile, he was repeatedly critical of the Saudi leadership, especially in columns for the Washington Post.
A trial is underway for the murder of Khashoggi in Turkey. In autumn, a Saudi court sentenced five defendants to 20 years in prison, thus overturning the death sentence imposed on the five men late last year. Khashoggi’s family had previously stated that they would forgive the perpetrators. (SDA)
