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Riyadh (AFP) – The Saudi government on Thursday discussed the involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the country's powerful crown prince. Death sentences were passed against five men and the United States imposed sanctions on 17 of them.
Riyadh prosecutors announced the indictment of 11 people and reported that 21 people were detained in connection with the killing, which shocked Saudi allies and lobbied Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to stop the killing. he denounces murder.
The Saudi prosecutor said that an execution would be recommended for five directors who "are accused of ordering and committing the crime".
But the prosecutor's spokesman, Shaalan al-Shaalan, dismissed accusations that Prince Mohammed, whose father is King Salman, has directed the murder.
The prince had "no knowledge" of Khashoggi's assassination, Shaalan said.
And Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Riyadh that the prince was not involved.
"Absolutely, the Crown Prince has nothing to do with this problem," Jubeir said.
– The prince's helpers on the blacklist –
Khashoggi, who lived in the United States and wrote for the Washington Post and other international media, was murdered and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2.
The murder was carried out by a team of Saudis who traveled to Istanbul for this purpose, according to Turkish and American assessments, and allegedly led and directed by close associates of the prince.
The Saudi prosecutor, according to the latest account of events in the country, said agents had been sent to Istanbul to bring Khashoggi home "by way of persuasion", but ended up killing him with "great amount of drug causing an overdose ".
The Saudi prosecutor has not named any of those indicted in the murder. The US sanctions announced Thursday included two of Prince Mohammed's main aides, Saud Al-Qahtani and Maher Mutreb, as well as Mohammed Alotaibi, consul general of the Istanbul consulate after Khashoggi's assassination.
The US Treasury said that Qahtani, Prince Mohammed's long-time confidant, "was involved in the planning and execution of the operation" aimed at killing Khashoggi.
The statement of the United States makes no mention of the Crown Prince.
Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said that her country "welcomes the measures taken by the United States" and that Ottawa "is actively considering" doing the same.
– Crisis for the Crown Prince –
Khashoggi's murder plunged the world's largest oil exporter into the worst diplomatic crisis since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, in which most of the pirates were identified as Saudi nationals.
Critics shook Prince Mohammed, 33, who settled with unshakable confidence since he became the heir to the throne in June 2017 as part of a reshaping undertaken by King Salman to secure the power of his wing of the Saudi royal family.
Allies and critics call for an independent investigation into Khashoggi's murder, with Turkey at the helm pointing directly to Prince Mohammed, known as "MBS".
But Jubeir rejected Thursday calls for an international investigation.
"It is now a legal case and is therefore in the hands of the judiciary of Saudi Arabia," he said.
On Thursday, the Saudi prosecutor's office said the kingdom had asked Turkey to sign a "special cooperation mechanism" for an investigation.
Turkey said the Saudi response was insufficient and insisted that the killing was "premeditated".
"We find all these measures positive, but insufficient," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the Washington State Department, described the Saudi statement as "a good first step," while denying the existence of any link with the announcement of sanctions by the Treasury two hours later.
"We consider that the announcement they made is a good start, it's a step in the right direction," Nauert told reporters.
"This is an initial investigation finding.It is important that these measures continue to be taken to make the accounts fully accountable."
– US lawmakers: sanctions are not enough –
Senior US politicians and the Washington Post said the measures taken on Thursday were far from sufficient.
"By announcing actions against the" perpetrators "of Jamal Khashoggi's murder, the Saudi and US governments are calling on the world to take their word for it to resolve the issue," said Fred Ryan, Publisher and Managing Director of Post.
"From the beginning," the Saudi investigation "aims to protect the ultimate perpetrators of this heinous crime, while there is every reason to believe that it has been allowed to the highest levels from the Saudi government. "
"The US government should demand an independent investigation that will determine the truth about the murder of an innocent journalist."
Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the US sanctions against the 17 Saudis were not enough.
"All those who participated in the brutal killing of Khashoggi should be subject to strict sanctions and, as I review this list, it is clear that it is not exhaustive", a- she declared.
"There must be other sanctions against the Saudi leaders who ordered this assassination.We must send a clear message: the United States stands unequivocally alongside human rights and democratic values. . "
burr-pmh / ec
