A security staff stands guard outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 20, 2018. Preliminary investigations by the Saudi Public Prosecution showed missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi died after a fight at the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday. (Xinhua/He Canling) (wtc)
Saudi Arabia denied that Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman was involved in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A declassified U.S. intelligence report released on Friday assessed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud approved an operation to "capture or kill" Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
"We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," read the report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
Photo taken on Oct. 15, 2018 shows the outside of Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. A Turkish team entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Monday evening to conduct a search over the disappearance of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, live broadcast showed. (Xinhua/He Canling)
Saudi Arabia denied the crown prince was involved in the death of Khashoggi.
Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, and a number of top Saudi officials were arrested in connection with the case.
Saudi Arabia's Public Prosecution last September issued the final verdicts against eight convicts in Khashoggi's killing, five were sentenced to 20 years in jail, and three sentenced to seven to ten years in jail. ■
