United Nations Confirms Investigator Of The Jamal Khashoggi Murder Case Threatened By Saudi Arabia

Jamal Khashoggi. (Wikimedia Commons/April Brady)

JAKARTA - The United Nations human rights office has confirmed the accuracy of statements published by the independent expert, who is leading the investigation into the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, in connection with threats by a senior Saudi Arabian official on Wednesday, March 24.

"We confirm that the details in The Guardian's story about the threats aimed at Agnes Callamard are accurate", UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said in an email reply to Reuters.

"The UN human rights office has received the notification from Callamard, as well as the UN Security Council and relevant authorities", he added.

This confirmation departs from The Guardian newspaper which the day before, quoted Agnes Callamard, a UN expert on the brief killings, as saying a Saudi official had threatened he would be "taken care of" if he did not limit his involvement in the investigation into the Jamal Khashoggi murder case.

Callamard said the threat was presented at a January 2020 meeting between Saudi Arabian and UN officials in Geneva. He said he was told about the incident by a UN colleague.

The alleged threats were made during a meeting between Saudi Arabian diplomats based in Geneva, a visiting Saudi Arabian delegation and UN officials, The Guardian reported. After the Saudis criticized Callamard's work on the case, the newspaper reported, a senior Saudi official said he had spoken to people who were prepared to "look after him."

Agnes Callamard. (Source: news.un.org)

The Saudi Arabian official did not respond to requests for comment. Callamard did not respond when contacted by Reuters.

Callamard is leading a UN investigation into the October 2018 murder of Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the Istanbul Consulate, Turkey. She issued a report in 2019 that concluded there was "credible evidence" Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and senior officials were responsible for the murder of Khashoggi, a journalist and citizen of the United States.

She then called for sanctions against the Prince of Saudi Arabia's assets and international involvement. The prince denies involvement in the murder, but says he bears ultimate responsibility because it happened under his watch.

Callamard, who is currently Secretary General of Amnesty International, criticized the Saudi Arabian court's ruling that jailed eight people to 20 years in prison for the killings, calling the kingdom "mock justice" by not punishing more senior officials.

Separately, the Administration of United States President Joe Biden, took a tougher stance on Saudi Arabia's human rights record, releasing intelligence reports that said Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved operations to arrest or kill Khashoggi.

The Saudi Arabian government rejected the findings and reiterated that the murder was a heinous crime by a rogue group.