Western countries condemn Saudi explanation

Jamal Khashoggi’s death:

ENGLAND - Western governments have rejected the official Saudi Arabian explanation for the death of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi as not credible and said they would wait for the full report from Turkish authorities before deciding on what punishment – if any – to impose on Riyadh. Ministers from France, Germany, the UK and Canada all criticised the Saudi claim made late on Friday that Khashoggi died in a fist fight inside its Istanbul consulate – Riyadh’s first acknowledgement of his death after two weeks of denials that the kingdom was involved in his disappearance on 2 October. A senior Saudi official gave Reuters Riyadh’s most comprehensive account yet of the journalist’s killing on Sunday. He said a team of fifteen men had acted without authorisation from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to extradite the writer. He was accidentally choked after resisting, the official said, and his body rolled up in a rug and given to a ‘local cooperator’ for disposal. A member of the team then dressed in Khashoggi’s clothes to make it appear as if he had left the consulate, the official said. Riyadh was given a false report from the team, which was why it had taken so long for Saudi Arabia to investigate his death. Turkish investigators allege an audio recording from the consulate proves the journalist was tortured and his body dismembered with a bone saw, charges Riyadh denies. The UK’s Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, was asked in an interview on BBC TV if he believed the Saudi explanation. “No, I don’t think it is credible”, he said. “We support the Turkish investigation into it and the British government will want to see people held to account for that death.” The Foreign Office has yet to respond officially, but is consulting on a joint international statement. The French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said earlier on yesterday that full light needed to be shed. “I note that the Saudi authorities have changed tack, admitted the facts and accepted some responsibility, so we’re making progress”, he said. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and her foreign minister, Heiko Maas, said in a joint statement issued on Saturday that information provided by Riyadh was insufficient and that more transparency was needed.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, described Khashoggi’s death as a shocking violation of international conventions. The Canadian foreign minister, Chrsytia Freeland, said in a statement on Saturday that “the explanations offered to date lack consistency and credibility”. Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, said: “We deplore the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. We expect the Saudi government to cooperate fully with Turkish authorities regarding the investigation of this matter.”

(The Guardian)