JAKARTA - The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation to arrest or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was killed in 2018, said a United States intelligence report released on Friday, February 26 local time.
Khashoggi, a US citizen who wrote an opinion column for the Washington Post criticizing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's policies, was murdered and dismembered by a team of operations linked to the prince at the royal consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
"We believe that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to arrest or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi", the Office of the Director of US National Intelligence said in the four-page report.
The intelligence agency based its assessment on the crown prince's control over decision-making, the direct involvement of one of his top advisers, and the details of his own protection. As well as his support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.
"Since 2017, the Crown Prince has absolute control over the Kingdom's security and intelligence organizations, so it is highly unlikely that Saudi officials would carry out such an operation without (his) permission", the report continued.
The Saudi Arabian government, which has denied any involvement by the crown prince, issued a statement rejecting the findings of the US report and reiterating earlier claims that Khashoggi's murder was a heinous crime by a group of con artists.
US President Joe Biden is trying to make it clear that the assassination of political opponents is unacceptable to the United States while maintaining ties with the 35-year-old crown prince, who may rule one of the world's top oil exporters for decades and will become an important ally against a common enemy, Iran.
Among the punitive steps that the United States took on Friday, imposed a visa ban on some Saudis believed to be involved in Khashoggi's murder and sanctioned others, including the former deputy intelligence chief. Their US assets are confiscated.
US officials also said that they were considering canceling arms sales to Saudi Arabia which raised human rights concerns and limited future sales of "defensive" weapons, after reassessing its relationship with the kingdom and its role in the Yemen War.
The report was released one day after President Joe Biden called the leader of Saudi Arabia, King Salman. Launching Euronews, it was not stated whether this report was discussed in the phone call. But President Biden said earlier in the week that he had read the report.
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