02/25/2021 10:06
Clarín.com
World
Updated 02/25/2021 10:06 AM
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has in his hands a report that he plans to make public this Thursday, and that in Saudi Arabia could resonate like a bomb.
This is the document prepared by the US secret services on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.
And that points directly to the heir to the Saudi throne, Prince Mohamed Bin Salman.
The publication of this report will be the first proof of the intention of the US president to "recalibrate Washington's relationship with Saudi Arabia," as White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki explained days ago.
Former President Donald Trump was accused of not having condemned the violations of Human Rights and against freedom of expression committed by the Saudi monarchy.
Now, the new Democratic government asserts, "President Biden will not be silent."
Prince Mohamed Bin Salman, heir to the Saudi throne, at the center of the accusations for the death of Jamal Khashoggi.
Photo: AP
The US Senate, based on the investigation in the country's intelligence services, had already determined that Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman, known by his initials, MBS, was responsible for the macabre murder of the journalist and columnist for
The Washington Post
.
But Trump never wanted to publicly condemn the prince for the sake of preserving the alliance with Saudi Arabia, a pillar of his strategy against Iran and a major buyer of American weapons.
The result of the investigation that Biden plans to disseminate indicates, as it transpired, that
Prince Bin Salman
approved and "possibly ordered" the killing,
the BBC's website reported Thursday.
The death of Jamal Khashoggi sparked protests and calls for justice across much of the planet.
Photo: DPA
Macabre crime
Khashoggi, 59, was a harsh critic of his country's monarchy, especially Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and had lived in the United States since 2017.
His death, in October 2018,
sparked an international outcry
and tarnished the reputation of the oil-rich country and its powerful Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Salman.
The CIA concluded that the royal had been responsible for the murder, straining relations between the United States, where the columnist lived, and Riyadh.
The journalist was suffocated and dismembered inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul after entering to obtain documents to marry his Turkish girlfriend.
But his death was shrouded in
intrigue and mystery
from the beginning.
In reality, Khashoggi entered the consulate on October 2, but never came out.
His girlfriend, Hatice Cengiz, was the first to report the disappearance.
The Turkish government, in turn, claimed from the beginning that the journalist had been murdered and demanded an explanation from Riyadh for this crime committed in Istanbul.
Faced with international pressure, the kingdom admitted that the journalist had died in its premises, but initially claimed that it had been due to a blow "during a fight."
The version never convinced.
At the end of October 2018, Riyadh
acknowledged that it had been a premeditated murder
.
But the body never appeared.
The versions according to which he had been dismembered grew stronger as the investigations progressed.
US President Joe Biden intends to "recalibrate" the relationship with Saudi Arabia, according to his spokesmen.
Photo: EFE
The Saudi government promptly arrested 18 officials, including some close to Prince Bin Salman.
In 2019, UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard accused the Saudi state of "willful and premeditated execution" of Khashoggi.
What the report says
The report to be released on Thursday says that the Saudi prince approved "and possibly ordered" the killing of Khashoggi, according to several US officials told Reuters.
The sources indicated that the CIA was the main one in charge of the investigation.
The Saudi prosecution and Prince Mohammed insist that the heir to the throne had no knowledge of the murder.
But that in 2019 he assumed "full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia, especially since it was committed by people who worked for the Saudi government."
NBC News pointed out that intelligence information is not really new.
It builds on CIA work that was widely reported in 2018, and later
denied by then-President Trump.
As the BBC recalled, at the time the
Washington Post
said that the CIA assessment was based in part on a phone call made by the crown prince's brother, Prince Khalid bin Salman, who was the Saudi ambassador to the United States in the time of murder.
Prince Khalid, who is now Deputy Defense Minister, reportedly called Khashoggi on his brother's orders and assured him that it would be safe to go to the consulate in Istanbul.
Prince Khalid, however, denied any communication with the journalist.
What the investigators maintain is that Bin Salman did not necessarily order the crime, but that
an operation like that did need the approval of the prince
.
The eyes from Riyadh will be on Washington on Thursday night, when the new president of the United States opens the folders considered until now as "top secret".
Source: ANSA, AFP and
Clarín
CB
Look also
Jamal Khashoggi: who was the Saudi journalist dismembered in Istanbul?
Saudi Arabia Sentences Defendants for Jamal Khashoggi Murder to Between 7 and 20 Years in Prison
