Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was behind the murder of journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi. He has approved and probably ordered the murder, is the conclusion of a report released by the American intelligence services.
In recent days it had become clear that the report would be published and media already reported that this would be the main conclusion. The report lists the names of 21 people who were most likely responsible for or complicit in his death. Whether they all knew beforehand that the operation would end in Khashoggi’s death is not certain.
The conclusion that Bin Salman is behind the murder plan is based, among other things, on the position of power that the crown prince has in Saudi Arabia and the involvement of one of his top advisers and others from his immediate environment. It is also reported that Bin Salman has often supported violence to silence dissidents.
Fear culture
Since 2017, the crown prince had absolute control over the security and intelligence services in the country, the report said. “That makes it very unlikely that Saudi officials would carry out such an operation without authorization from the Crown Prince.”
The report also talks about the culture of fear in the country: those who do not perform tasks properly, are at risk of being arrested or fired. As a result, employees are unlikely to question Bin Salman’s assignments or do sensitive things without his approval.
As a sanction, the United States has imposed travel restrictions on 76 Saudis. “We do not tolerate activists, dissidents or journalists being threatened or attacked,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Blinken.
Important US ally
Jamal Khashoggi, 59, was a critic of the Saudi regime. He has written for The Washington Post, among others. He was killed in the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul in 2018. His body was never found. The murder caused much international turmoil.
The intelligence services report could jeopardize good relations between the US and Saudi Arabia. The Americans therefore operated cautiously in recent days. Yesterday, the new US president Biden called the Saudi King Salman. Afterwards, Biden called the country an important ally. The two countries have been working together for decades against Iran’s influence in the Middle East.
Khashoggi’s fiancé Hatice Cengiz tweeted after the report was released a photo of her late partner with #justiceforjamal written on it.
