Saudi Arabia rebuffs UN expert’s report on Khashoggi murder

Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs on Wednesday rejected a U.N. report that said there is credible evidence Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other high-level officials are liable for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“Nothing new… The rapporteur in the human rights council repeats in her non-binding report what has been published and circulated in the media,” tweeted Adel al-Jubeir.

The report “contains clear contradictions and baseless allegations which challenge its credibility”, he added.

Agnes Callamard, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, concluded that Khashoggi’s murder was deliberate and premeditated but made no conclusion as to guilt. Her report relies on recordings and forensic work conducted by Turkish investigators and information from the trials of the suspects in Saudi Arabia.

That trial should be suspended, she said, citing concerns over secret hearings and a potential miscarriage of justice.

Jubeir rejected any attempt to influence the trial or remove it from the Saudi judicial process.

He said in a later statement published by state news agency SPA that the report contained “false accusations confirmed as stemming from Callamard’s preconceived ideas and positions towards the kingdom”, and said Riyadh retained the right to take legal action in response to its claims.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who was a critic of the Crown Prince, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 by Saudi officials, provoking widespread anger.