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Saudi Report on Murder of Journalist Khashoggi

Here is the press release from Saudi Arabia with its findings on its investigation into the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Washington Post reports:

[T]he prosecutor said Khashoggi was given a lethal injection by Saudi agents who had orders only to bring him to Saudi Arabia through persuasion or, if necessary, with force. His body was then dismembered, carried out of the consulate and disposed of by a Turkish contact, the prosecutor said. He offered no indication of where Khashoggi’s remains could be found.

The Treasury Department has announced sanctions on 17 Saudis. Saudi Arabia has said it will seek the death penalty for 5 of those charged in Khashoggi's murder. Neither country has placed any blame on the Crown Prince, notwithstanding: [More..]

A number of current and former U.S. officials, and Middle East experts, have said the Istanbul operation would not have been launched without the knowledge and approval of the powerful crown prince, who is the son of King Salman and is considered Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler.

Many in Congress and the media are not satisfied with the sanctions response: Sen. Tim Kaine said:

“I am disturbed that following repeated Saudi lies about what happened to Jamal, the administration appears to be following the Saudi playbook of blaming mid-level officials and exonerating its leadership,”

Sen. Rand Paul tweeted “We are pretending to do something and doing NOTHING,

The publisher of the Washington Post, Fred Ryan, issued this statement:

“In announcing actions against ‘those responsible’ for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, the Saudi and U.S. governments are asking the world to take their word for it that this settles the matter. From the start, the Saudi ‘investigation’ has been an effort to shield those ultimately responsible for this heinous crime when there is every reason to believe that it was authorized at the highest levels of the Saudi government.”

So the Saudis seem to be saying this was the equivalent of a capture (by consent) or kill mission. What belies that is the fact that Khashoggi was planning on getting married to a woman from Turkey the next day - he only went to the embassy to get a document saying he was free to marry. Why would anyone think he would voluntarily agree to abandon his fiancee and marriage plans to return to Saudi Arabia? If the "capture (with consent)" part is removed from the equation, then this was but one thing: A kill mission.

< Government Moves to Strike El Chapo's Opening Statement | Khashoggi: CIA Assessment and Reports of Prior Marriage >
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  • Display: Sort:
    The Bone Saw Murder (none / 0) (#1)
    by KeysDan on Wed Nov 21, 2018 at 02:23:55 PM EST
    Trump's Thanksgiving message: We give thanks to Crown Prince MBS for the low oil prices.   Question, will oil prices continue to go down as the number of journalists dismembered goes up?