Saudis told to back up claims on death of journalist
But Raab insists defence jobs come first
SAUDI ARABIA must back up its claims about the circumstances which led to the violent death of a dissident journalist, the British, French and German authorities have said.
In the most strongly-worded statement to date over the matter, the British Government questioned the credibility of the Saudi account that Jamal Khashoggi, a
Washington Post columnist, died after a fist fight in the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul.
The joint statement from the Foreign Office and its French and German counterparts said the countries noted the Saudis’ preliminary findings, adding: “Yet there remains an urgent need for clarification of exactly what happened on October 2 – beyond the hypotheses that have been raised so far in the Saudi investigation, which need to be backed by facts to be considered credible.”
It said: “Nothing can justify this killing and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.
“Defending freedom of expression and a free press are key priorities for Germany, the United Kingdom and France . The threatening, attacking or killing of journalists, under any circumstances, is unacceptable and of utmost concern to our three nations.”
It said the “quality and significance of the relationship we have with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” rests with the “norms and values” they were all committed to under international law.
Turkish government sources have claimed Mr Khashoggi was murdered by a hit squad.
SAUDI ARABIA’S explanation about the death of a dissident journalist is not credible but the UK is not preparing to terminate its relationship with the state, a Cabinet minister has said.
The Gulf kingdom admitted on Friday that Jamal Khashoggi was killed at its Istanbul consulate but claimed he died after a fight broke out.
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said it was a “terrible case” but the UK government was “not throwing our hands in the air” because thousands of jobs depended on relations with the country.
He said the government supported an investigation into the killing.
Asked if he believed the Saudi government’s explanation, Mr Raab said: “No, I don’t think it’s credible.”
“We are not throwing our hands in the air and terminating the relationship with Saudi Arabia, not just because of the huge number of British jobs that depend on it but also because if you exert influence over your partners you need to be able to talk to them,” he told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show.
The government has come unTurkish der pressure from Labour and the Liberal Democrats to ban arms sales to the kingdom but Mr Raab insisted the UK’s export regime was “one of the most rigorous” in the world. The problem with Labour’s position is it would cost thousands of British jobs. So, what we would rather do is support the investigation, find out what happened.”
government sources have claimed that Mr Khashoggi, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi government, was tortured and murdered by a hit squad flown in from Riyadh.
The Saudis initially dismissed the allegations as baseless, without providing an explanation as to how the Washington Post columnist disappeared after entering the consulate on October 2.
A number of Saudi nationals have since been arrested while deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and Saud al-Qahtani, a senior aide to the Crown Prince, have been dismissed, state TV reported.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is considering the “next steps” in Britain’s response to the case.
Mr Hunt has previously warned there will be “consequences” for the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia if it was found the journalist was murdered.
US President Donald Trump suggested sanctions against Saudi were a possibility but said that halting arms deals would “hurt us more than it would hurt them”.
Oliver Sprague, Amnesty International UK’s arms expert, said the UK should have halted arms sales to Saudi Arabia long ago over its actions in Yemen.