A U.S. intelligence report expected to be released on Thursday will blame the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Reuters reports.
The report, led by the CIA, will explain how the Crown Prince approved and probably ordered Khashoggi’s assassination, four people familiar with its contents told the news service.
Khashoggi, an American journalist for the Washington Post who often criticized the Crown Prince in his writings, was assassinated in 2018 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Officials believe Saudi agents probably dismantled Khashoggi’s remains, which have never been found.
The report is part of it President Biden
Joe BidenKlain on Manchin’s objection to Neera Tanden: “Senators don’t respond to us in the White House” Senators have not given a timeline on removing the National Guard Capitol fence. | Biden reads a report on the assassination of Khashoggi Austin emphasizes vaccine safety in the new MORE videoThe push to reaffirm the US when it comes to relations with Saudi Arabia. On Wednesday he told reporters he had read the intelligence report but had not spoken directly to the Crown Prince, speaking only to his father, Saudi King Salman.
“We have been in contact with Saudi officials at numerous levels in the first few weeks of this administration,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement to Reuters.
The news service noted that a 2018 UN human rights investigation found Saudi Arabia responsible for a “deliberate and premeditated execution” of Khashoggi.
“There is enough credible evidence about the responsibility of the Crown Prince calling for further investigation,” researcher Agnes Callamard said at the time.
The Crown Prince has denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s death.