The United States government has released a long-awaited intelligence report concluding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the operation that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
"We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in its declassified summary of the intelligence community’s findings.
Khashoggi, a resident of Virginia who wrote for The Washington Post, was murdered in October 2018 after being lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to pick up documentation needed to marry his Turkish fiancee. Once inside, Turkish officials say a 15-member Saudi hit squad killed the 59-year-old journalist and dismembered him using a bone saw. His remains were never recovered.
According to the four-page report released on Friday, investigators based their assessment on Prince Mohammed’s decision-making control in Saudi Arabia, the direct involvement of his associates in the operation, as well as his "support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi." The ODNI added it is “highly unlikely” that the operation would have been conducted without the authorization of Prince Mohammed, widely known as MBS.
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