Hatice Cengiz, Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée, called on US President-elect Joe Biden to launch the CIA classified report on the assassination of the Washington Post journalist once he enters the White House, a move he said will ” it helps a lot ”in discovering the truth.
The assessment of the classified information was never released, but the media reported, without giving further details, that it ends with “medium to high confidence” that the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the killing.
The publication of a declassified version of the report, say Cengiz and other activists, would prove that Biden is committed to making Saudi Arabia “pay a price for murder,” as it promised to do in the 2020 campaign.
“I call on the president-elect to release the CIA assessment and evidence. It will help a lot to find out the truth about who is responsible for Jamal’s murder, “Cengiz said.
Asked if he was being examined, a source familiar with the transition and the thought of the president-elect said: “The president-elect is waiting for what he said after the campaign regarding the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. We know that work remains – including to ensure the necessary transparency. “
Khashoggi disappeared while visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 to pick up the papers for his marriage to Cengiz. His remains have never been located or returned. The riad has finally admitted that the 59-year-old was killed by Saudi agents in what he says was an extradition operation, but Prince Mohammed has always denied any involvement or knowledge of the crime.
During the election, Biden emerged as an open critic of Prince Mohammed, saying during a democratic debate that he would make Saudi Arabia “the bet I am in” if elected. He also said that the USA will stop selling weapons to the kingdom if it wins.
Most Saudi analysts and dissidents living outside the kingdom agree that the US position on Saudi Arabia will change once Biden enters the White House, unlike Donald Trump’s close ties to the Crown Prince.
But the question now is how far Biden will go and what specific issues it could influence. While the United States could hasten the end of the war in Yemen, pressuring the kingdom on domestic human rights abuses may prove more difficult.
“I guess [releasing the classified report on Khashoggi’s murder] it is easy to do by the president. The ramifications will be profound, “said Safa Al Ahmad, a Saudi journalist and human rights activist who has been living in exile since 2014.
But there is also skepticism that it will happen. First, because it is not clear that Biden will try to strengthen relations with the Saudis in his first weeks in office. Second, because of the alleged practical risks associated with the release of information.
“I think it’s very unlikely. To protect sources and methods, it should be drafted. Such a document would not be very satisfactory. To do otherwise would be to significantly reduce our ability to monitor activities, ”said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA analyst and senior at the Brookings Institution.
Agnès Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, who investigated the Khashoggi crime, said she believed the report could be published without compromising CIA sources or methods.
“I, for one, am sick and tired of the intelligence that always has priority over justice,” she said. “So much information is held by the US about the killing of journalists, including the identities of the brains, corrupt officials and people who abuse their power. Certainly the search for justice, the fight against impunity require that this information be made public “, she said.
While Biden could eventually back down some of his tough talks against the kingdom, Riedel said it would still be a “big change”, especially in terms of arms sales.
“The Saudis are late in realizing that the good times are coming to an end. I think they are trying to figure out what to do and they are particularly concerned that Biden is reviving the Iranian nuclear deal, which they are completely opposed to, ”Riedel said.
Riedel said the change in US administrations is taking place as Prince Mohammed, known as MBS, appeared to be increasingly concerned about his own security and paranoid – perhaps rightly – about his position.
“MBS holds almost all its meetings in the fantastic city of Neom. Well, there’s a reason for that. It is the safest place for him to be in the kingdom and I think it reflects his very acute concerns. He alienated a lot of Saudis, “Riedel said.
The Guardian has been informed that a number of Bin Jalawi princes have recently been placed under house arrest at the behest of the Crown Prince. Although this could not be independently verified, Riedel said that given that the family was second to the Al Saud family, the alleged house arrests were very significant. A US official said such arrests would be in line with the Crown Prince’s crackdown on any sign of dissent. The Saudi embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment.
The Saudi Crown Prince has held in custody his closest political rival, former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, since March, as well as Saad Aljabri’s two adult children, a former intelligence chief known for his close ties to USA and lives in exile in Canada.
Although it is not known that Biden had a particularly close relationship with Mohammed bin Nayef, whom he met on a trip to Riyadh since 2011, analysts say they believe that the continued imprisonment of “MBN” will be among the main human rights issues raised by the Biden administration.
The Saudi government has never given official explanations as to why Bin Nayef was detained, but a changing list of charges has been used, from attempted coup, addiction, corruption, betrayal and conspiracy with the Obama administration.
Other cases that are likely to cause dismay include a recent move by a Saudi court to sentence Walid Fitaihi, a US-Saudi dual citizen, to six years in prison after his arrest in 2017, despite appeals from the Trump administration for his release. Fitaihi’s family has claimed that he was tortured while in custody and that the charges against him relate to tweets he posted in support of the Arab Spring, as well as his allegedly unauthorized movement to obtain US citizenship. .
Another political prisoner, women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul, who is believed to have been tortured in custody, was recently tried in a special terrorism court after being detained for two years without charge. in a case that has led to criticism from human rights organizations.
Callamard, who is set to take up a new post as head of Amnesty International next year, said he was not “naive enough” to believe that Biden would radically change the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, but that he would move to accountability.
“It simply came to our notice then. We are talking about a message – it is a small step of responsibility of the United States and its democratic institutions “, she said.