They revealed how members of the Saudi command who assassinated Jamal Khashoggi were trained

Four members of the commando who assassinated Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, they had received paramilitary training in the United StatesThe New York Times revealed it on Tuesday.

Khashoggi, critic of Saudi power after being close to him, residing in the United States and columnist for the newspaper Washington post, was assassinated on October 2, 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a team of Saudi Arabian agents.

Four of these agents, according to the New York newspaper, had received formation of a private American security group, Tier 1 Group, based in Arkansas, which is owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, and was defensive in nature and designed to protect Saudi executives.

The program benefited from an authorization granted in the first instance by the State Department, under the administration of Barack Obama in 2014. This training continued at least until the start of Donald Trump’s mandate, specifies the Time.

The newspaper quotes in particular a document given to the Trump administration by a senior official of the Cerberus parent company, while appearing before a parliamentary committee after being proposed by Donald Trump for a post in the Ministry of Defense.

In this document, Louis Bremer confirms that the Level 1 group provided training to Saudi agents, but insists it was “defensive in nature” and “unrelated to their subsequent heinous acts”.

Bremer argues, according to the New York Times, that the four members of the command received the training in 2017, and that two of them had already participated in a first version of the training, from October 2014 to January 2015.

Contacted by AFP, the State Department said it could not comment on this information, although it did mention “responsible use … of US military equipment and training.”

“This administration … is examining appropriate responses when violations occur,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in the statement.

According to an American report published in February, Seven members of an elite unit tasked with protecting Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman were from the command that killed Jamal Khashoggi. The New York Times it does not specify whether the four officers trained in the United States belonged to this unit.

The body of the journalist, dismembered on the spot, has never been found.

After denying the murder, Riyadh ended up saying it was committed by Saudi agents acting alone.

After an opaque trial in Saudi Arabia, five people were sentenced to death and three others to heavy prison terms. But nine months later, the death sentences were replaced with 20-year prison terms.

(With information from AFP)

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