Saudi crown prince denies killing journalist, calls it a ‘heinous’ crime

ISTANBUL — Trying to stem global condemnation, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday spoke for the first time about the murder three weeks ago of a U.S.based Saudi journalist, calling it a “heinous” and “unjustified” crime.

Prince Mohammed, speaking in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, denied what is widely suspected — that he was involved in killing Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi writer critical of his nation’s regime — and vowed to find and punish the people responsible.

Saudi, Turkish and U.S. officials have said that members of the prince’s inner circle, including his security team, formed part of an execution hit squad dispatched from Riyadh to Istanbul, where Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi Consulate on Oct. 2.

The United States on Tuesday revoked the U.S. visas of 21 Saudi officials and security agents identified as suspects. It was the first reprisal by Washington, though critics called it barely a slap on the wrist since the suspects were not likely to be planning trips to the United States.

Saudi officials, after denying for weeks that Khashoggi had been killed, now acknowledge the crime, but blame it on officers exceeding their authority. The desert kingdom is struggling to shield the crown prince from blame, though most of the suspects reported to him, and he had already earned a reputation for rash, reckless behavior.

“The incident that happened was painful for all Saudis, and especially because (Khashoggi is) a Saudi citizen, and I believe it’s painful for every person in the world,” Prince Mohammed said.

“It’s a heinous incident, totally unjustified.” He was speaking to a Saudi-sponsored conference of high-profile international investors in Riyadh. Many big-name participants, including from the United States, dropped out of the conference because of the Khashoggi case. But several thousand people, including more Saudis than in the previous year, were on hand to give Mohammed — the kingdom’s de facto ruler — a standing ovation.

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin also pulled out of the conference, ostensibly in protest of the killing, but showed up at a parallel meeting with Prince Mohammed on Monday.

The prince pledged to work with Turkish authorities in their investigation of the killing and denied the episode had inflamed tensions between the two rival Sunni Muslim countries.