Khashoggi’s Fiancee Says MbS Should Be ‘Punished without Delay’ in Wake of US Report
Khashoggi’s Fiancee Says MbS Should Be ‘Punished without Delay’ in Wake of US Report
M.U.H
02/03/2021513
The fiancée of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi called for the immediate punishment of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) over the journalist’s murder.
"It is essential that the Crown Prince, who ordered the brutal murder of a blameless and innocent person, should be punished without delay," Hatice Cengiz argued in a statement posted on her Twitter page on Monday, RIA Novosti reported.
The report, published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), accuses MbS of approving Khashoggi's assassination.
The move entailed a number of sanctions imposed by Washington immediately after the release as at least 76 Saudi Arabian subjects were banned from receiving visas.
Riyadh rejected the report as a "negative, false, and unacceptable assessment". The crown prince, for his part, denied involvement in Khashoggi's killing, noting that he accepts responsibility for the assassination because it happened "on his watch".
Khashoggi, a Saudi-born Washington Post columnist, went missing in 2018 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Saudi government initially denied any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts, but eventually admitted that he was killed and dismembered inside the facility.
The Saudi government sentenced several people over their role in Khashoggi's murder and has repeatedly denied allegations that members of the royal family were involved in the incident.