The United States (US) has accused Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) of approving a plan to assassinate Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, in a move that could have sweeping implications for US-Saudi relations.
According to a previously classified report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on Friday, the Prince’s “absolute control” of the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organisations since 2017 made it highly unlikely that Saudi officials carried out such an operation without his authorisation. The document speaks of an extremely coercive and strict environment fostered by the Prince for those around him and said that that meant aides were unlikely to question his orders or “undertake sensitive actions without his consent.”
The revelation directly contradicts Saudi officials’ claims in the aftermath of the 2018 killing, who said that the incident was a result of a “rogue operation” by a team of agents sent to bring the journalist to the Kingdom. The country also tried and sentenced five individuals to 20 years in prison last September, after initially sentencing them to death.
Apart from the Crown Prince, the report also names 21 other individuals involved in Khashoggi’s killing. These include members of a 15- person hit team, some of whom were associated with the Saudi Centre for Studies and Media Affairs (CSMARC) at the Royal Court, which was, at the time, led by Saud al-Qahtani, a close adviser of Muhammad bin Salman. Al-Qahtani “claimed publicly in mid-2018 that he did not make decisions without the Crown Prince's approval,” the document says. It further highlights that seven members of hit team were part of the Saudi Rapid Intervention Force (RIF) who had “directly participated in earlier dissident suppression operations in the Kingdom and abroad at the Crown Prince’s direction”.
Khashoggi, who was openly critical of the Saudi government, was seeking paperwork to marry his Turkish fiancée, when he went into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2, 2018. However, he never left. He was killed by a group of assassins, who then dismembered his body, and his remains were never recovered. “The Crown Prince viewed Khashoggi as a threat to the Kingdom and broadly supported using violent measures if necessary, to silence him,” the intelligence report says, noting that though Saudi officials had “pre-planned an unspecified operation” against Khashoggi, “we do not know how far in advance Saudi officials decided to harm him.”
Along with declassifying the report, the Biden administration on Friday also imposed travel restrictions on 76 Saudi individuals “believed to have been engaged in threatening dissidents overseas, including but not limited to the Khashoggi killing.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the measures are part of the new “Khashoggi Ban” visa restriction policy that allows the State Department to “impose visa restrictions on individuals who, acting on behalf of a foreign government, are believed to have been directly engaged in serious, extraterritorial counter-dissident activities.” Blinken said that Jamal Khashoggi “paid with his life” to express his beliefs, and the measures would ensure that his death would not be in vain.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry has responded to the damning report by saying that it “completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions”. The statement went on to say: “The Ministry reiterates what was previously announced by the relevant authorities in the Kingdom, that this was an abhorrent crime and a flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s laws and values. This crime was committed by a group of individuals that have transgressed all pertinent regulations and authorities of the agencies where they were employed.” Commenting on the travel restrictions, the foreign ministry said that it “rejects any measure that infringes upon its leadership, sovereignty, and the independence of its judicial system.”
Though the Crown Prince had built a close personal relationship with senior members of the previous administration, US President Joe Biden has consistently spoken of the need to “recalibrate” the US’ ties with the kingdom amid increasing concerns of human rights violations. Since taking office in January, the Biden government has announced the end of US support to the coalition in Yemen, reversed Trump’s designation of the Houthi rebels as terrorists, and halted an arms deal with Riyadh. The White House has also said that it will engage with the country on a “counterpart to counterpart” level, and therefore conduct diplomacy through Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, rather than the Crown Prince MBS.
Ahead of the report’s release, both, Biden and Blinken spoke with their Saudi counterparts, affirming their commitment to human rights and the rule of law. Though Khashoggi’s name was not mentioned in any of the readout’s released by the administration, the New York Times quoted officials saying that the purpose of the discussion (between Biden and King Salman) was to explain why he was releasing the report and outline the administration’s next steps on the situation.
US Says Saudi Crown Prince Approved the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi
The report says that the Prince’s “absolute control” of Saudi's security and intelligence organisations made it highly unlikely that Saudi officials carried out such an operation without his approval.
February 27, 2021
SOURCE: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES via AXIOS