Over Khashoggi Murder Former Saudi Diplomat Barred From Entering U.S.
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – The United States barred from entering the country Mohammed al-Otaibi, the former Saudi consul general in Istanbul in October 2018, when Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed there, the U.S. State Department said.
"The murder of Jamal Khashoggi was a heinous, unacceptable crime,” the Department said in a statement, adding that it continued to urge the Saudi regime to conduct a "full, fair and transparent” trial to hold accountable those responsible for the former Washington Post columnist’s death.
Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was a critic of bin Salman, was hacked to death and his body was dismembered at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2, 2018.
U.S. President Donald Trump and other administration officials had offered a weak and feckless response to the murder of Khashoggi and its subsequent cover-up by the Saudi leadership.
There is still no objective accounting – by Saudi or American officials -- of what happened in the consulate, let alone any real accountability.
President Trump has repeatedly brushed aside the grisly murder, saying a Saudi pledge to purchase billions of dollars worth of U.S. arms "means something to me.”
Trump has cited the profits that the US economy reaps from maintaining good business relations with the Saudis, particularly the Crown Prince bin Slaman.
Trump has described the Saudi crown prince as a "friend”. "It’s an honor to be with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, a friend of mine, a man who has really done things in the last five years in terms of opening up Saudi Arabia.”
Saudi Arabia is U.S. arms dealers’ most important client and Washington’s number one ally in the Middle East.
"The murder of Jamal Khashoggi was a heinous, unacceptable crime,” the Department said in a statement, adding that it continued to urge the Saudi regime to conduct a "full, fair and transparent” trial to hold accountable those responsible for the former Washington Post columnist’s death.
Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was a critic of bin Salman, was hacked to death and his body was dismembered at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2, 2018.
U.S. President Donald Trump and other administration officials had offered a weak and feckless response to the murder of Khashoggi and its subsequent cover-up by the Saudi leadership.
There is still no objective accounting – by Saudi or American officials -- of what happened in the consulate, let alone any real accountability.
President Trump has repeatedly brushed aside the grisly murder, saying a Saudi pledge to purchase billions of dollars worth of U.S. arms "means something to me.”
Trump has cited the profits that the US economy reaps from maintaining good business relations with the Saudis, particularly the Crown Prince bin Slaman.
Trump has described the Saudi crown prince as a "friend”. "It’s an honor to be with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, a friend of mine, a man who has really done things in the last five years in terms of opening up Saudi Arabia.”
Saudi Arabia is U.S. arms dealers’ most important client and Washington’s number one ally in the Middle East.