Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman has denied ordering the killing of Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi.
Salman who stated this in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday night, said, “This was a heinous crime, but I take full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia, especially since it was committed by individuals working for the Saudi government.”
Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist, was killed and dissected after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
Salman, said he takes responsibility for the crime because it was committed against a Saudi citizen by officials working for the Saudi government and “as a leader I must take responsibility.”
But the prince insisted he knew nothing about the operation, saying it’s impossible for “3 million people working for the Saudi government” to send daily reports to the leader “or the second highest person in the Saudi government.”
Contrary to the prince statement, some Saudi officials later claimed a group of rogue operators, many of whom belong to the Saudi crown prince’s inner circle were responsible for the journalist’s death.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), concluded that the crown prince personally ordered Khashoggi’s murder.
Also, a United Nations independent investigator released a report in June that said there is credible evidence the crown prince bears responsibility for Khashoggi’s death of which the foreign minister for Saudi Arabia later called the report “flawed.”
After being questioned about the CIA’s conclusion that he ordered the killing, the leader said he wants “this information to be brought forward.”
“If there is any such information that charges me, I hope it is brought forward publicly,” he said.
Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi Arabian dissident, author, columnist for The Washington Post, and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel.He also served as editor for the Saudi newspaper Al Watan, turning it into a platform for Saudi progressives.
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