Riyadh Fails to Provide Details of Probe Into Khashoggi's Murder - Washington

Sputnik News

19:01 13.03.2019

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Saudi Arabia has not provided pertinent details of its investigation into last year's killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, the State Department said on Wednesday in its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

"At year's end the [Public Prosecutor's Office (PPO)] had not named the suspects nor the roles allegedly played by them in the killing, nor had they provided a detailed explanation of the direction and progress of the investigation", the report stated.

Last November, the Saudi PPO announced the indictment of 11 suspects in Khashoggi's murder, and later stated that 10 more individuals were under investigation.

The State Department noted that in the past, Saudi Arabia did not punish officials accused of committing human rights abuses.

Khashoggi went missing on October 2, 2018, after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Riyadh initially denied any knowledge of his whereabouts, but later admitted that the journalist was killed with a drug injection before his body was dismembered and taken out of the consulate.

Many US lawmakers have said they believe that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman ordered the killing. The Saudi side, in turn, refuted these allegations, vowing to find and punish those responsible for the death of the journalist.

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