Saudi Arabia under fire at UN review
Rising political tension over journalist’s death knocks share price back 7%
Saudi Arabia insisted at the UN on Monday that its investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi will be “fair”, amid a barrage of criticism from countries over the murder.
The debate at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva comes just more than a month after Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkey confirmed last week that Khashoggi was strangled as soon as he entered the consulate on October 2 as part of a planned hit.
The so-called Universal Periodic Review, which all 193 UN countries must undergo about every four years, came as a Turkish official said on Monday that Saudi Arabia had sent experts to Turkey to cover up the journalist’s murder before allowing Turkish police in to search the consulate.
During Monday’s review, Western countries especially voiced outrage at the killing, with many calling for a “credible” and “transparent” investigation, and some, such as Iceland and Costa Rica, demanding an international probe.
British ambassador Julian Braithwaite said his country is “gravely concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Saudi Arabia”, pointing to women’s rights, mass arrests of rights defenders and extensive use of the death penalty.
“But most concerning is the murder of Jamal Khashoggi,” he said, urging Saudi Arabia to “ensure comprehensive and transparent investigations into the murder” and to make sure “those responsible are held to account”.
SoftBank’s close ties with Saudi Arabia are under scrutiny, with shares in the Japanese conglomerate slumping 7% as the Middle East nation comes under increasing pressure over allegations it was involved in the death of a journalist.
The Japanese technology giant’s Vision Fund, a $100bn investment vehicle that has backed companies such as Uber, has close links with Saudi Arabia, a key investor.
However, the Saudi regime has come under fire from business leaders and politicians after Washington Post columnist and critic of the regime Jamal Khashoggi disappeared from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Khashoggi vanished on October 2 after entering to obtain documents.
The Saudi government denies any involvement.
But the Turkish police have claimed that agents of Saudi Arabia killed Khashoggi.
The rising political tension has battered shares in the Japanese conglomerate, which fell 7.26% to ¥9,251 ($81.74) in Tokyo on Monday.
REFUSALS
It comes as some of the world’s technology leaders, including Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi, refused to attend the Future Investment Initiative conference, a showcase for investment in the kingdom, held on October 23 to 25.
Tensions appeared to escalate further on Sunday evening as Bahrain backed a campaign to boycott Uber, saying: “We will boycott those who boycott Saudi Arabia.”
SoftBank’s Vision Fund is in talks for a further injection of $45bn from the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.
Saudi Arabia has also invested in electric car giant Tesla.