Sanctions possible against Saudis over Khashoggi death

CANADA MAY TAKE ACTION

Canada might follow a U.S. decision to put personal sanctions on Saudi Arabian officials allegedly involved in killing journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey last month, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says.

The United States announced Thursday it would use its “Magnitsky law” to go after 17 people. They include the Saudi consul-general in Turkey, Mohammed al-Otaibi. Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi monarchy, was last seen going into the consulate in Istanbul that al-Otaibi ran.

Magnitsky laws are named for a Russian accountant killed in prison after exposing corruption among Russian tax officials. They let governments freeze people’s assets and restrict their travel.

“We are very aware of the U.S. sanctions on certain Saudi individuals and we have been in close contact with the U.S. about those Magnitsky sanctions,” Freeland said Thursday afternoon, visiting a factory in Port Colborne, Ont. “Canada welcomes the U.S. actions. When it comes to Canada, we also do have Magnitsky legislation in place and that is a tool which we have found very useful in our foreign policy and that is certainly something which, in the coming days, Canada is actively considering.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is still seeking clear answers from Saudi Arabia about what happened.

“We will continue to work with our international partners to get to a clearer determination and hear answers from Saudi Arabia on their perspective and their participation, potentially, in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi,” Trudeau said, speaking to reporters at a summit he’s attending in Singapore. “I think we stand with our international partners on ensuring accountability.”

Trudeau’s Liberal government is struggling with a multibillion-dollar sale of Canadian-made armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, a deal negotiated under the previous Conservative government but that needs ongoing approvals to keep shipments flowing. Besides Khashoggi’s suspicious death, Saudi Arabia’s involvement in a savage civil war in neighbouring Yemen raises questions about the morality of selling the kingdom weapons.

Without giving details, Trudeau has suggested the penalties if the government breaks the contract would be massive.

Saudi Arabia’s top prosecutor said earlier Thursday he is seeking the death penalty for five suspects charged with ordering and carrying out Khashoggi’s killing.