‘Credible proof’ against Saudi crown prince in Khashoggi case

Geneva, June 19

There is “credible evidence” linking Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a UN expert said on Wednesday, calling for sanctions on the prince’s personal foreign assets.

The allegation regarding Prince Mohammed’s possible direct role in Kashoggi’s execution last October was detailed in a new report by the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard.

Callamard, an independent human rights expert who does not speak for the United Nations, also called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to initiate a formal criminal investigation into the case. Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and critic of Prince Mohammed, was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Blaming the murder inside the consulate on rogue agents, Saudi prosecutors have absolved the crown prince of responsibility. But Callamard said her inquiry had “determined that there is credible evidence, warranting further investigation of high-level Saudi Officials’ individual liability, including the Crown Prince’s”. — AFP