Washington D.C [USA], Nov 18 : The US State Department refuted all reports that claimed that the United States had arrived at a conclusion regarding the perpetrators behind journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death.
The clarification came after The Washington Post reported that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had concluded that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered for Khashoggi’s killing.
The spokesperson for the US State Department Heather Nauert released a statement, which mentioned, “There remain numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder of Mr Khashoggi. The State Department will continue to seek all relevant facts,” according to CNN.
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that US President Donald Trump had been briefed about CIA’s assessment on Saturday morning.
Trump spoke to CIA Director Gina Haspel and US Secretary of State Micheal Pompeo via phone call en route to California on Saturday.
The Washington Post had reported that the CIA had inferred that the Saudi Crown Prince had ordered for Khashoggi’s killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month.
Trump told reporters, “As of this moment, we were told that he did not play a role,” while referring to the Crown Prince’s role in the crime on Saturday before leaving for California.
He further underscored Saudi-US ties while mentioning that the US has “a great ally in Saudi Arabia”.
Riyadh has continuously rejected all reports that indict the Crown Prince while mentioning that five individuals are facing the death penalty for their direct involvement in “ordering and executing the crime”. So far, 11 people have been charged by the Kingdom in connection with Khashoggi’s death.
The US, on the other hand, levied the Global Magnitsky sanctions against 17 individuals on November 15 “for serious human rights abuse resulting from their roles in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi”.
The Arabic country’s public prosecutor has noted that Khashoggi died after “a fight and a quarrel” at Istanbul’s Saudi consulate while stating that he was injected with sedatives that led to his death. His body was dismembered after his demise and taken off consular premises by five individuals who belonged to the 15-member hitman squad that had landed in Turkey just a short while before the crime took place.
Jamal Khashoggi was reported missing after he stepped into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain paperwork that would allow him to wed his fiancee Hatice Cengiz. His death was later confirmed by the Saudi prosecutor’s office.
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