Jamal Khashoggi: CIA ‘blames Saudi prince for murder’

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Image copyright AFP Image caption Saudi Arabia says the crown prince knew nothing of plans for the killing

The CIA believes that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in step with US media stories.

Sources on the subject of the company said it had assessed the proof intimately.

it is understood there is no “smoking gun” but US officers assume such an operation would want the prince’s approval.

Saudi Arabia has called the declare false and insisted that the crown prince knew nothing approximately plans for the killing.

It says Khashoggi was killed as a results of a “rogue operation”.

In The Meantime, US Vice-President Mike Pence vowed on Saturday to hold Khashoggi’s killers to account.

Speaking at the sidelines of a summit in Papua New Guinea, he mentioned the u.s. was once “determined to hold all of those responsible who are chargeable for that homicide”.

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The journalist used to be killed within the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October. His frame has now not been found.

Turkey insists the order to kill him got here from the highest levels.

The Washington Put Up, which Khashoggi worked for, says the CIA overview was once primarily based partially on a telephone name made via the crown prince’s brother, Prince Khaled bin Salman, the Saudi ambassador to the us.

Prince Khaled allegedly called Khashoggi on the direction of his brother and gave him assurances that he could be safe to head to the consulate.

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Media captionHow has the demise of Jamal Khashoggi impacted the conflict in Yemen?

Prince Khaled, now again in Saudi Arabia, said on Twitter that he had not been in contact with Khashoggi for nearly a yr. He said he had never urged Khashoggi – who had been in London for a conference until the day before his disappearance – will have to visit Turkey for any explanation why.

This denial is being carried prominently in Saudi media, the BBC’s Sebastian Usher In Riyadh studies.

Neither the White Area nor the u.s. State Division has commented on the stories, but sources say they have been knowledgeable of the CIA’s conclusions.

it’s understood retailers have additionally tested a call made to a senior aide of Crown Prince bin Salman by way of the team that performed the killing.

Sources quoted in the united states media stressed out that there has been no unmarried piece of evidence linking the crown prince on to the murder, however officers believe such an operation would have wanted his approval.

“The everyday place is that there is no way this took place without him being mindful or concerned,” the Washington Publish quoted a supply as saying.

What do the Saudis say happened to Khashoggi?

At a news convention in Riyadh on Thursday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Shalaan bin Rajih Shalaan stated Khashoggi used to be given a lethal injection and his frame was dismembered throughout the consulate after his dying.

The frame parts had been then handed over to a local “collaborator” out of doors the grounds, he brought. A composite sketch of the collaborator has been produced and investigations are continuing to locate the remains.

Eleven people have been charged over the journalist’s loss of life and the prosecutor is looking for the loss of life penalty for 5 of them.

Mr Shalaan didn’t identify any of these charged with the murder.

Khashoggi, who wrote a per thirty days column within the Washington Put Up, disappeared after entering his country’s consulate in Istanbul to procure a marriage document.

Turkish officials insist his homicide was once premeditated and carried out by means of a workforce of Saudi agents.

On Friday, funeral prayers happened for the murdered creator in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Khashoggi’s son, Salah, met mourners in Jeddah at the same time as loads attended prayers in the holy towns of Mecca and Medina, as well as in Istanbul.

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