First, Saudi Arabia spent weeks denying its involvement in the death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Then, Saudi Arabia changed its tune and admitted that they had killed him, but claimed that it was an accident. Now, the country has come clean: Khashoggi’s death was premeditated.
The admission appears to be the result of Turkey releasing information proving that Khashoggi’s death was anything but an accident. This forced the Saudi Arabian attorney general to admit that it was indeed premeditated. Attorney General Shaikh Suood bin Abdullah Al Mo’jab released a statement: “The public prosecution received information from the Turkish side through the Joint Working Group between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Turkish Republic, indicating that the suspects in Khashoggi’s case premeditated their crime.
“The public prosecution continues its investigations with the accused in accordance with the latest investigation results to reach the facts, God willing, and complete the course of justice.”
Before the most recent admission, Saudi Arabia had tried to claim that Khashoggi had turned violent during an interrogation. The Saudis claimed that they had intended to drug and kidnap Khashoggi, but would later release him should he refuse to return to Saudi Arabia. Allegedly, Khashoggi became combative upon hearing their plans and tried to fight back, before dying in the ensuing scuffle.
Now, it appears that this story is as bogus as the claim that Saudi Arabia wasn’t involved at all.
Saudi Arabia Banning Khashoggi’s Children, Some of Whom Are American, from Leaving
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Khashoggi’s family is on lockdown. While Saudi Arabia has reached out to the family, offering condolences, some allege that the family has been all but taken hostage, being forbidden from leaving the country and presumably under surveillance.
To complicate issues even further, three of Khashoggi’s four children are American citizens. However, to be clear, the travel bans appear to have been in place before Khashoggi was killed. Apparently, the bans were instituted after Khashoggi first left Saudi Arabia and started writing articles critical of the Saudi government.
The travel ban will only increase headaches for President Donald Trump and the State Department. Already, Trump’s efforts to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia while countering growing Iranian and Russian influence in the region have been strained. If American citizens are indeed being forbidden from leaving the country with no clear justification for the travel ban, the pressure will only increase.
Turkey Checking Saudi Arabia in Geopolitical Chess Game
Turkey’s decision to slowly drip evidence has confounded efforts by Saudi Arabia to cover up the alleged murder. Khashoggi has been critical of the ruling Saudi regime and heir apparent Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud (MBS). However, by Western standards, his criticisms were generally mild and measured.
MBS has distanced himself from Khashoggi’s death, shifting blame to subordinates and promising that those who committed crimes will be brought to justice. Still, many analysts believe that there’s little chance that Khashoggi would have been murdered without MBS’s approval.
MBS has been in damage control, continuing to try to sell business opportunities through his “Davos in the Desert” conference. However, many prominent Western business people and government officials have pulled out. And while MBS has been touting Saudi Arabia as the “next Europe,” his regime is coming under increasing scrutiny for its authoritarian tactics. Some believe that MBS’s position as heir to the throne could even be in jeopardy.
Update: CNN reports that Saudi Arabia has rescinded the travel ban and that at least one of Khashoggi’s sons has left the country.
