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Published image, Reuters
Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal murder shocked the world three years ago
The United States is preparing to release a declassified intelligence report that is expected to indict the Saudi Crown Prince of being involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The White House said President Joe Biden, who had read the report, would speak “soon” to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
Biden wants to “reset” relations with Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi was brutally murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The crown prince has denied any involvement in the crime.
Saudi authorities claim his death was the result of a “rogue operation” carried out by a team of agents who were sent to Istanbul to return him to the Kingdom.
A Saudi court handed down death sentences for five people for murder, but those sentences were reduced to 20 years in prison last September.
What do we know about the report?
Four US officials told Reuters news agency the report, which is expected to be released later Thursday, will say Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has accepted Khashoggi’s murder and “it is likely he ordered it. “.
They said the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was the main contributor to the report.
Saudi prosecutors and Prince Mohammed bin Salman insist he has no knowledge of the murder, but said in 2019 he bears “full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia, especially more than it was committed by people working for the Saudi government. “
The US channel “NBC News” reported that the intelligence assessment was not new and was based on CIA work which was widely reported by US media in 2018 – and was later denied by the US president. of the time, Donald Trump.
According to this quoted assessment, there was no “conclusive evidence”, but US officials believed such an operation would have required the prince’s approval.
The Washington Post, where Khashoggi worked, said at the time that the CIA’s assessment was based in part on a phone call made by the crown prince’s brother, Prince Khalid bin Salman, who was the ambassador of Arabia. Saudi Arabia in Washington at the time of the crime.
Published image, Reuters
Trump preferred to deal directly with the Saudi Crown Prince, while the Biden administration said he would deal with King Salman
Prince Khaled, who is now deputy defense minister, reportedly contacted Khashoggi on his brother’s orders and assured him that it would be safe to go to the Istanbul consulate. Prince Khaled denied any contact with the journalist.
In 2019, United Nations Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard accused the Saudi state of the “premeditated and premeditated execution” of Khashoggi, and dismissed the Saudi trial as a “contradiction of justice”.
Why is the report being released now?
The publication of the report is part of Joe Biden’s policy to reorganize relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to take a stronger position than his predecessor, Donald Trump, on certain Saudi positions.
The Trump administration had previously refused a legal request for a declassified version of the report, focusing instead on improving cooperation with the Saudis.
White House spokeswoman Jane Psaki said on Wednesday that Biden would communicate with King Salman and not directly with the crown prince, his son and is considered the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.
She said the president was due to speak to the 85-year-old king for the first time since taking office “soon”, without giving a specific time to call.
She told reporters: “We made it clear from the start that we were going to reset our relations with Saudi Arabia.”
The new administration has already made major changes to Washington’s policy in this regard, with President Biden ending US support for the Saudi-led coalition’s offensive operations in Yemen and the freeze on arms sales in Yemen. kingdom.
How was Jamal Khashoggi killed?
The 59-year-old journalist was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, to obtain papers allowing him to marry his Turkish fiancee.
According to the Saudi prosecutor, Khashoggi was forcibly immobilized after a conflict and was injected with a large amount of drugs, which led to an overdose which resulted in his death. The prosecutor said his body was then dismembered and handed over to a local “collaborator” outside the consulate. His remains have not been found.
Shocking details have been revealed in transcripts of alleged audio recordings of the murder, obtained by Turkish intelligence services.
Published image, Getty Images
Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 to obtain marriage papers
Khashoggi was once an adviser to the Saudi government and close to the royal family, but he lost his favor with them and went into self-imposed exile in the United States in 2017.
From there, he wrote a monthly column in the Washington Post criticizing the policies of Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In his first column for the newspaper, Khashoggi said he feared being arrested in what appeared to be an anti-opposition campaign overseen by the Emir.
In his last column, he criticized Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the Yemeni conflict.
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