Saudi Crown Prince approved operation to 'capture or kill' Jamal Khashoggi: US report

The Biden administration on February 26 released a declassified intelligence report of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and revealed that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation to “capture or kill” the Saudi journalist. Khashoggi, who was murdered in 2018, was a vocal critic of the Saudi regime. He was killed in Turkey where he had gone to obtain paperwork certifying his divorce from his former wife Alaa Nassif in order to be able to marry his Turkish fiance Hatice Cengiz. 

On Friday, the US’ Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released the report - ‘Assessing the Saudi Government Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi’ - which said that Crown Prince MBS approved the operation to capture or kill the Saudi journalist. The ODNI said that they based the assessment on the Crown Prince’s control of decisionmaking in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protective detail in the operation. The report further even added that the Crown Prince’s “support” for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad is also the reason to believe that he had approved the operation. 

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The report read, “We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi”. 

Further, the report went on to name individuals allegedly complicit in, or responsible for, Khashoggi’s death. However, it added that the US doesn’t know how far in advance those involved planned to harm him. The US officials said that the Crown Prince’s “absolute control” of the Kingdom’s intelligence organisations would make it highly unlikely that such an operation could have been carried out without his authorisation. 

It is worth noting that the Saudi authorities have blamed the killing on a “rogue operation” by a team of agents sent to return the journalist to the kingdom. A Saudi court had tried and sentenced five individuals to 20 years in prison, after initially sentencing them to death. 

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US announces visa restrictions and sanctions 

The report was released a day after US President Joe Biden had a telephonic conversation with Saudi King Salman. Following the release, a statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described it as a “horrific killing” and announced new visa restrictions. According to BBC, Blinken announced the travel restrictions, dubbed the “Khashoggi ban”. He said that those targeted are believed to have been directly engaged in serious extraterritorial counter-dissident activities. 

Blinken even went on to warn that perpetrators targeting perceived dissidents on behalf of any foreign government should not be permitted to reach American soil. Additionally, the treasury department sanctioned some of those around Crown Prince, including one of his close aides, former deputy intelligence chief Ahman Asiri, as well as his personal protective force, which was involved in the killing. 

(With inputs from ANI) 

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