Saudi Arabia denounced a U.S. intelligence report that found Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greenlighted the operation to assassinate Jamal Khashoggi.
The long-awaited report, released on Friday afternoon by President Biden’s administration, showed that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluded the crown prince, who is the kingdom’s de facto leader, “approved an operation” to “capture or kill” Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist.
The kingdom responded to the report through its government-run Saudi Press Agency shortly after the findings were released. The news release cites the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in denouncing the claim that bin Salman, who is known as MBS, directed the operation.
“The Ministry notes that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions,” the government said.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RELEASES REPORT SAYING SAUDI CROWN PRINCE ORDERED KHASHOGGI OPERATION
“It is truly unfortunate that this report, with its unjustified and inaccurate conclusions, is issued while the Kingdom had clearly denounced this heinous crime, and the Kingdom’s leadership took the necessary steps to ensure that such a tragedy never takes place again,” the message continued. “The Kingdom rejects any measure that infringes upon its leadership, sovereignty, and the independence of its judicial system.”
The 35-year-old crown prince has rejected the claim that he ordered Khashoggi’s killing, although he has said he bears responsibility for it. The Saudis arrested eight people they claimed to be tied to Khashoggi’s assassination, and while five were sentenced to death, they were later all given prison sentences.
The Saudi dissident was lured into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, assassinated, and reportedly dismembered by a 15-man team of assassins in October 2018, drawing international condemnation. This week, it was revealed in court documents that MBS was in possession of the aviation company used to extricate Khashoggi’s killers from Turkey at the time of his death.
Hatice Cengiz, who was Khashoggi’s fiance, filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court against MBS late last year, seeking unspecified damages. The lawsuit was filed under the Torture Victims Protection Act and the Alien Tort Statute, which allows non-U.S. citizens to file lawsuits in U.S. courts over allegations of torture or extrajudicial killings committed in foreign countries.
Another lawsuit filed by Saad al Jabri, a former top intelligence official in the kingdom, alleges that just weeks after Khashoggi’s death, MBS dispatched a hit squad to also kill him in Canada. Jabri had fled to North America shortly before a mass arrest of Saudi royalty, government officials, and businessmen.
The Biden administration has sought to take a tougher stance against the kingdom than former President Donald Trump’s administration did, although Saudi Arabia remains a key ally in the region as a counterbalance to Iranian influence in the Middle East, and Biden has decided not to penalize the crown prince directly, senior administration officials told the New York Times.
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“Saudi Arabia is a key partner on many priorities,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price on Thursday. “This relationship … is multifaceted, but we want to ensure that we bring those facets much closer in line with our interests and our values … the release of that report and the accountability that will ensue.”
