Saudi Crown Prince: Khashoggi murder ‘heinous’ act, ‘happened under my watch’

Saudi Crown Prince: Khashoggi murder ‘heinous’ act, ‘happened under my watch’
September 26, 2019, 8:41 am

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed says Khashoggi’s murder is a “heinous crime” that “happened under my watch.” (File photo AP)

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said in a PBS documentary due to air on October 1 that he gets “all the responsibility” for the murder of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul last October.

“It happened under my watch,” the Crown Prince told PBS. “I get all the responsibility, because it happened under my watch.”

Crown Prince Mohammed said the killing of Khashoggi was a “heinous” act, and that he had no knowledge of the “rogue operation.”

“We have 20 million people. We have 3 million government employees,” the Crown Prince said, when asked about how the killing happened without his knowledge.

“I have officials, ministers to follow things, and they’re responsible, they have the authority to do that,” he added.

Khashoggi was murdered on October 20, 2018 after a fistfight broke out at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor had said at the time.

He had disappeared on October 2, 2018 after visiting the consulate to complete paperwork related to his divorce.

At the time, Saudi Arabian authorities arrested 18 Saudis for investigation in connection with events surrounding Khashoggi’s murder.

The Kingdom’s public prosecutor in January had asked for the death penalty for five of the suspects held over the murder, according to the state news agency SPA.

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