A U.S. intelligence report due to be released on Thursday will place the blame for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to Reuters.
The report, led by the CIA, will show how the Crown Prince approved and probably ordered Khashoggi’s murder, 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 killed in 2018 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Officials believe Saudi operatives likely dismembered Khashoggi’s remains, which were never found.
The report is part of President biden
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“We have been in contact with Saudi officials at various levels in the first weeks of this government,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement to Reuters.
The news service noted that a United Nations human rights investigation in 2018 concluded that Saudi Arabia was responsible for Khashoggi’s “deliberate and premeditated execution”.
“There is sufficient reliable evidence on the responsibility of the Crown Prince who requires further investigation,” said investigator Agnes Callamard at the time.
The Crown Prince denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s death.