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US Announces Sanctions Against 17 Saudis in Khashoggi Murder Case

By VOA News November 15, 2018

The U.S. has announced sanctions against 17 Saudis for their alleged role in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul.

Among those to be sanctioned are Saud al-Qahtani, a former top aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as the Saudi Consul General Mohammed Alotaibi.

"These individuals who targeted and brutally killed a journalist who resided and worked in the United States must face consequences for their actions," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement Thursday.

The sanctions will be implemented under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets those who have committed of serious human rights abuses and acts of corruption. The announcement was somewhat surprising given the U.S. rarely imposes sanctions on Saudi Arabia.

Mnuchin also said Washington was continuing efforts to determine what actually occurred and would hold accountable everyone found responsible for the journalist's death.

The U.S. announced the sanctions hours after Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor requested the death penalty for five suspects in Khashoggi's murder.

The Washington Post columnist and critic of the crown prince was killed October 2 after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

A spokesman for the prosecutor's office said Thursday Khashoggi was given a lethal injection and after he died his body was dismembered.

Saudi officials have given numerous explanations since Khashoggi went missing, including saying he actually left the consulate on his own, that he died after a fight, and that he was killed during a "rogue operation."

The prosecutor said the death sentences were recommended for five people "charged with ordering and committing the crime," while six others who have been charged in connection with the killing should receive "the appropriate sentences."

Saudi Arabia is also asking for Turkey's help in providing evidence and information from its investigation.

Turkey has been slowly releasing details during the past month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan alleges the order to kill Khashoggi came from the "highest levels" of the Saudi government.

Saudi officials have denied the crown prince was involved.