Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman should face further investigation over the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a UN report has said.
UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial executions Agnes Callamard said in her report, published today, that Khashoggiâs death âconstituted an extrajudicial killingâ for which Saudi Arabia is responsible.
Callamard said there is âcredible evidence, warranting further investigationâ that Bin Salman (pictured) and other high-level Saudi officials may be liable for Khashoggiâs murder.
But she also warned against a âdisproportionate emphasis on identifying who ordered the crimeâ, saying the search for justice and accountability did not solely depend on âfinding a smoking gun and the person holding itâ.
She added that âno conclusion is made as to guiltâ regarding bin Salman, only that there was âcredible evidence meriting further investigationâ.
Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October last year. His body has never been found.
Callamard described the killing of a journalist as an âan act inconsistent with a core tenet of the United Nations, the protection of freedom of expressionâ in the report.
The UN report is based partly on audio recordings of Khashoggiâs murder obtained by Turkish intelligence officers. Callamard said Khashoggi âcould have been injected with a sedative and then suffocated using a plastic bagâ.
The report said: âSounds of movement and heavy panting could be heard in the remainder of the recordings.
âThe sound of plastic sheets (wrapping) could also be heard. Turkish Intelligence concluded that these came after Mr Khashoggiâs death while the Saudi officials were dismembering his body.
âThe Turkish Intelligence assessment identified the sound of a saw at 1.39pm [on 2 October 2018]. The Special Rapporteur and her delegation could not make out the sources of the sounds they heard.â
The Saudi regime has denied any involvement in the killing of Khashoggi, describing it as the result of a ârogue operationâ by agents about which the crown prince had no prior knowledge.
Saudi has charged 11 suspects with Khashoggiâs murder, five of whom are understood to be facing the death penalty.
Callamard called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the UN Human Rights Council or the Security Council to demand a âfollow-up criminal investigationâ into the killing.
She has previously pushed for the trials of the 11 unnamed suspects in Saudi Arabia to be held in public, adding that the investigation into the killing should meet âinternational legal standardsâ.
She has now called on the Saudi trial to be suspended over concerns about how it is being carried out âbehind closed doorsâ.
The report today said: âThe Special Rapporteur has found that both the investigations conducted by Saudi Arabia and Turkey failed to meet international standards regarding the investigation into unlawful deaths.â
It went on to say that Saudi officials had not provided any information to the UN about evidence they may have collected from the consulate between 6 and 15 October.
Callamard also claimed to find evidence âpointing to the crime scenes having been thoroughly, even forensically, cleanedâ â an indication that the Saudi investigation âmay amount to obstructing justiceâ.
Other members of the United Nations were also criticised over their inaction in response to the killing.
The Special Rapporteur said she regretted that no international bodies or states came forward with offers to mediate between Turkey and Saudi Arabia to ensure proper access to the crime scene.
âInstead, it appears that other member states pondered rather only their own national and strategic interests,â Callamard said.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said today:Â âThe UK Government condemns Jamal Khashoggiâs killing in the strongest possible terms and remains clear that anyone found responsible must be held fully accountable.
âThe UK Government will study the Special Rapporteurâs report, and consider its findings.â
The US froze the assets of 17 Saudis in November last year over the murder. Its sanctions were welcomed in the UN report, which said sanctions should also be levelled against the assets of the crown prince âuntil and unless evidence is provided and corroborated that he carries no responsibilities for this executionâ.
UK-based charity Article 19 welcomed the report for presenting âfurther compelling evidence that the murder of Jamal Khashoggi was premeditated, and carried out on the orders of high level Saudi officialsâ.
The charityâs executive director, Thomas Hughes, said: âIt is imperative that the international community responds to this report by supporting criminal investigations to the acts of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his former adviser, Saud Alqahtani, and holds the Saudi state to account for this targeted murder of a journalist.
âThe UN Secretary General can and must act if states do not.â
Picture: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via Reuters
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