After the release of the report by the American intelligence agency CIA pointing a finger at crown prince Muhammad bin Salman to approve the killing of late journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi government officially denies the report.
The Saudi government repeated its previous statements that Khashoggi’s killing was a heinous crime by a rogue group.
Khashoggi was a US resident. He wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policies. He was killed and dismembered by a team of operatives in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
Saudi government released a statement in which it regarded the report as “negative, false and unacceptable”.
“The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.
#STATEMENT | The Government of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Completely Rejects the Assessment in the Report Submitted to US’ Congress Regarding Murder of Saudi Citizen Jamal Khashoggi pic.twitter.com/VQwYpBjvvX
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) February 26, 2021
In the mean time, US imposed sanctions on those involved while sparing prince Salman as a gesture to maintain good ties with the kingdom.
U.S. President Joe Biden made an effort to clarify that killings of political opponents were not acceptable to the United States while preserving ties to the 35-year-old crown prince, who may rule one of the world’s top oil exporters for decades and be an important ally against common foe Iran.
