US intel report: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi hit
The four-page report of the US intelligence community, which was submitted to the United States Congress, details how Prince Mohammed bin Salman bears responsibility for Khashoggi's killing.
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FollowThe Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the United States has concluded that Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi citizen living in North Virginia who was critical of the Saudi monarchy in his writings, was brutally murdered during a visit to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018.
The four-page report of the US intelligence community, which was submitted to the United States Congress, details how Prince Mohammed bin Salman bears responsibility for Khashoggi's killing. The report, however, does not reveal evidence that led the CIA to its conclusion.
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Narrating the sequence of events, the intelligence report said:
"A 15-member Saudi team arrived in Istanbul on October 2, 2018. The team included officials who were associated with the Saudi Center for Studies and Media Affairs at the Royal Court. At the time of the operation, CSMARC was led by Saud al-Qahtani, a close adviser of Muhammad bin Salman, who claimed publicly in mid-2018 that he did not make decisions without the Crown Prince's approval.
"The team also included seven members of Muhammad bin Salman's elite personal protective detail, known as the Rapid Intervention Force (RIF). The RIF -- a subset of the Saudi Royal Guard -- exists to defend the Crown Prince, answers only to him, and had directly participated in earlier dissident suppression operations in the Kingdom and abroad at the Crown Prince's direction. We judge that members of the RIF would not have participated in the operation against Khashoggi without Muhammad bin Salman's approval."
"The Crown Prince viewed Khashoggi as a threat to the Kingdom and broadly supported using violent measures if necessary to silence him. Although Saudi officials had pre-planned an unspecified operation against Khashoggi we do not know how far in advance Saudi officials decided to harm him."
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has rejected the report, calling it negative, false and unacceptable. The Saudi Foreign Affairs ministry claimed that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions.
The ministry further said that the assassination was committed by a group of individuals who had transgressed authorities of the agencies where they were employed.
The Saudis said that relevant authorities took all possible measures to investigate and to ensure that justice was served. Concerned individuals were convicted and sentenced by the courts in Saudi Arabia, and these sentences were welcomed by the family of Jamal Khashoggi, the ministry said while terming the findings of the report as unjustified and inaccurate.
Read the full report of the US intelligence community
