Released on Friday, the US Intelligence report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi found that Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia had authorised an operation to capture or kill a Saudi journalist.
According to the report, at the time of the murder, the Crown Prince likely created an atmosphere in which aides were afraid of being fired or detained if they failed to complete tasks. This indicates that the Prince’s aides were unlikely to challenge his orders or carry out sensitive tasks without his permission. According to the report, the Crown Prince saw the journalist as a threat and was in favour of using force if necessary, to silence him.
The executive summary of the study says, “We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman authorised an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”
“Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had full control over the Kingdom’s security and intelligence agencies, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out such an operation without his approval.” Despite the fact that the Trump administration was more tolerant of the Crown Prince’s conduct, the Biden administration has since denounced the abuse, saying that “lawlessness will not stand.”
Lawcutor 