‘A heinous crime that cannot be justified’
Saudi royal breaks silence at last on murder he calls:
THE Saudi royal accused of being behind the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi yesterday tried to distance himself from the murder and vowed to bring those responsible for the ‘heinous crime’ to justice.
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman spoke about the 59-year-old’s killing in Turkey for the first time at the so-called ‘Davos in the desert’ investment conference.
But the apparent seriousness of his comments was almost immediately undermined as he was pictured grinning alongside the president of Senegal, Macky Sall.
The killing of Mr Khashoggi, who was living in exile, has been widely criticised and prompted governments and business leaders to stay away from this week’s Saudi investment forum.
In his strongest rebuke yet, Donald Trump said the crown prince may have been behind the death of his high-profile critic at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Mr Khashoggi’s body has not been found. Yesterday the crown prince addressed the conference in Riyadh, having pulled out of a speech the previous day.
He said ‘the crime was painful to all Saudis and painful to every human in the world’, adding: ‘Saudi Arabia will go and implement all necessary rules and investigate deeply in order to achieve results. And to bring to justice those who were responsible for this heinous crime and they will be put before the courts. There’s no doubt.’
He said: ‘We know that many are trying to use this painful thing to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.’
He said this would not happen as long as he was the crown prince, adding: ‘Justice will be seen in the end.’
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Theresa May told MPs that the Saudi hitmen responsible for the murder of Mr Khashoggi would be banned from entering Britain.
Mrs May said any suspects who already have UK visas would have them revoked after the US announced similar plans on Tuesday. She said claims by the Gulf kingdom that Mr Khashoggi had been killed in a ‘fist fight’ were not credible and demanded answers.
Her comments came after the Daily Mail revealed how one of the alleged assassins had been photographed outside No 10 during the crown prince’s state visit.
Mrs May said: ‘The Home Secretary is taking action against all suspects to prevent them entering the UK and if these individuals currently have visas, those visas will be revoked today.’
Home Office officials would not reveal how many Saudis would have their visas revoked, although at least four suspects had been allowed into Britain this year.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘I have decided to take action against those implicated in the death to prevent them from entering the UK.’
He added: ‘We will always be thoughtful and considered in our response, but if the appalling stories are true, they are fundamentally incompatible with our values.’
Mr Khashoggi was killed after being lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain paperwork relating to his wedding.