Angus King had a "very direct" interview with the Saudi Crown Prince over the murder of a Washington Post reporter



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US Senator Angus King of Maine, on the left, and Todd Young of Indiana met on Sunday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Official photo of the Saudi press agency

US Senator Angus King of Maine spoke on Sunday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi last year.

King, an independent independent second-term, told CNN that he and US Senator Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana, had had a "very, very direct" conversation with the man accused of 39, ordering the assassination of Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

Agnes Callamard of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN expert, investigated the journalist's death and concluded that he had been the victim of a "deliberate and premeditated execution." And that "the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible" and should be studied.

A Turkish newspaper published this week the transcript of an audio recording of the murder of October 2018, according to which the journalist was reportedly suffocated and dismembered by a Saudi strike team within 12 minutes of his arrival at the consulate.

"All the experts consulted find it inconceivable that an operation of this magnitude can be implemented without the Crown Prince being at least aware of the launch of a kind of criminal mission against Mr. Khashoggi." , she said. in June.

The senior senator from Maine, who visited the region with a congressional delegation, told CNN that Ben Salman "did not seem surprised or surprised" when the two senators raised the issue of Khashoggi with the prince. heir who is the de facto head of Saudi Arabia.

"I think he knows he has a problem. He knows that he has to be more open and that people have to be held accountable, "King told CNN.

CNN stated that King refused to provide details of the private conversation, but stated in general terms that the Crown Prince was "ready to talk" about what happened to Khashoggi "and to confront him".

King said the people involved in the murder "must be held accountable and I think that he must assume some level of responsibility whether or not he gave order" because " he is still a head of state and has arrived under his supervision ". . "

King and Young also expressed their concern to the Crown Prince over the Saudi role in a bloody war in neighboring Yemen.

The two senators recently voted against proposed military sales to Saudi Arabia because of the country's commitment to the war.

"I do not want to be complicit in the killing of civilians. It's pretty simple, "King told CNN.

The two senators traveled to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman during their trip to the Middle East.

"Tensions from the Middle East are impacting the rest of the world, so it is vital that the United States continue to engage with our partners in the region," said King in a statement. "This trip has allowed us to better understand the challenges and opportunities of the region through frank conversations with key players in the region on security and human rights concerns, and to hear directly from members of our region. military and diplomatic personnel who are about to implement US policy. . I look forward to reporting back to the Senate on this trip to explain how we support stability in the region and crack down on evil actors such as Iran. "

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