Khashoggi murder ‘happened under my watch’, Saudi crown prince tells channel
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said he bears responsibility for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year by Saudi operatives “because it happened under my watch”, according to a PBS documentary to be broadcast next week.
Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has not spoken publicly about the killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The CIA and some Western governments have said he ordered it, but Saudi officials say he had no role.the death sparked a global uproar, tarnishing the crown prince’s image and imperilling ambitious plans to diversify the kindgom’s economy.
“It happened under my watch. I get all the responsibility, because it happened under my watch,” he told PBS’ Martin Smith, according to a preview of a documentary, “The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia,” set to air on October 1, ahead of the oneyear anniversary of Khashoggi’s death. After initial denials, the official Saudi narrative blamed the murder on rogue operatives.
The public prosecutor said the then-deputy intelligence chief ordered the repatriation of Khashoggi, a royal insider who became an outspoken critic, but the lead negotiator ordered him killed after discussions for his return failed. Saud al-qahtani, a former top royal adviser who gave orders over Skype to the killers, briefed the hit team on Khashoggi’s activities before the operation, the prosecutor said.
Smith asked whether the killers could have taken private government jets, to which the crown prince responded: “I have officials, ministers to follow things, and they’re responsible. They have the authority to do that.” Smith describes the December exchange, which apparently took place off camera, in the preview of the documentary.