Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
UN Expert: Saudi Arabia Undermined Khashoggi Probe
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
February 8, 2019

Share

GENEVA — A U.N. human rights expert said Thursday that Saudi Arabia undermined Turkey’s efforts to investigate the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which she described as a “brutal and premeditated killing” planned and carried out by Saudi officials.
Agnes Callamard, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, made her assessment Thursday after visiting Turkey.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who wrote critically about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. His remains have not been found.

Mr. Khashoggi was the victim of a brutal and premeditated killing, planned and perpetrated by officials of the State of Saudi Arabia.” — U.N. Expert Agnes Callamard

Investigation ‘Seriously Curtailed’

During its Jan. 28-Feb. 3 trip to Turkey, Callamard’s four-member team met with the foreign and justice ministers, the country’s intelligence chief and the prosecutor leading the case.
Callamard concluded that “Turkey’s efforts to apply prompt, effective and thorough, independent and impartial, and transparent investigations — in line with international law — had been seriously curtailed and undermined by Saudi Arabia,” the U.N. human rights office in Geneva said in a statement.
“Woefully inadequate time and access was granted to Turkish investigators to conduct a professional and effective crime-scene examination and search required by international standards for investigation,” Callamard said.

Brutal and Premeditated Killing Alleged

Evidence collected during the trip indicates “that Mr. Khashoggi was the victim of a brutal and premeditated killing, planned and perpetrated by officials of the State of Saudi Arabia,” she said. She did not point to any specific official.
Callamard’s team was given access to parts of the audio material obtained by Turkish intelligence on Khashoggi’s killing, but was “not able to undertake a deep technical examination of this material” and didn’t have an opportunity to authenticate it independently.
The statement said the team wasn’t able to carry out some other inquiries, such as meeting forensic and crime scene experts involved, “largely, but not only, due to time constraints.”

Report Goes to U.N. Body

Callamard plans to present her final report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in June.
Turkish officials have been frustrated by what they say is a lack of cooperation by Riyadh and have called for an international inquiry.
After denying Khashoggi was killed in the consulate for several weeks, Saudi Arabia indicted 11 people in the killing and is seeking the death penalty against five of them.
Turkey says Saudi Arabia must reveal the identity of a person who is thought to have disposed of the journalist’s body and hold all involved accountable.

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

UP NEXT

Putin Says Russia Has Tested a New Intermediate Range Missile in a Strike on Ukraine

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Pope to Make Late Italian Teenager Carlo Acutis the First Millennial Saint on April 27

UP NEXT

US Vetoes UN Ceasefire Resolution in Gaza Conflict

UP NEXT

Israeli Officials Demand the Right to Strike Hezbollah Under Any Cease-Fire Deal for Lebanon

UP NEXT

Spain Will Legalize Hundreds of Thousands of Undocumented Migrants in the Next 3 Years

UP NEXT

TSMC Walks a Geopolitical Tightrope

UP NEXT

Volunteers Came Back to Nonprofits in 2023, After the Pandemic Tanked Participation

UP NEXT

New Study: Proposed Trump Tariffs Could Cost US Consumers $78 Billion a Year

UP NEXT

Iran Defies International Pressure, Increasing Its Stockpile of Near Weapons-Grade Uranium, UN Says

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

4 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

5 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

5 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

5 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

6 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

6 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

6 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

6 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

7 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

7 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

NEW YORK — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen Thursday by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after...

3 hours ago

3 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

3 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

4 hours ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

4 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
5 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

5 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

5 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
6 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend