Report on murdered Saudi journalist to be released
A Turkish police officer walks past a picture of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi near the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul, Oct. 2, 2019.
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On Thursday, the US is expected to release a declassified version of an intelligence brief into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which finds that Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman approved and likely ordered the 2018 assasination, according to Reuters.
The report’s release is seen as President Joe Biden’s first bid to recalibrate US-Saudi relations after years of lack of condemnation of the kingdom’s human rights record and what was viewed as a friendlier relationship under former President Donald Trump. Biden, who is expected to speak with ailing Saudi King Salman, said Wednesday that he has read the intelligence report.
As a presidential candidate, Biden labeled Saudi Arabia as a “pariah” state which must be held accountable for the murder of Khashoggi and the killing of civilians in airstrikes in Yemen.
In 2018, a UN human rights investigation by Agnes Callamard found that Saudi Arabia was responsible for a “deliberate, premeditated execution” of Khashoggi. The 59-year old Washington Post columnist was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, on Oct. 2, 2018, and killed by operatives linked to the crown prince. His remains have never been found. Salman has denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s death.
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