AhlulBayt News Agency: US President Donald Trump has sparked fresh outrage after minimizing the 2018 killing of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi while meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office.
On Tuesday, Trump defended the crown prince when asked about CIA assessments that he had approved the operation leading to Khashoggi’s murder and dismemberment inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
“You’re talking about someone who was very controversial. Many people didn’t like him… things happen,” Trump remarked, drawing condemnation from human rights groups who accused him of justifying the crime and portraying it as deserved.
“But he knew nothing about it,” Trump added, apparently referring to Mohammed bin Salman.
These comments overlooked the crown prince’s own statement in 2019, when he admitted: “I take full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia, especially since it was carried out by individuals working for the Saudi government.”
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and veteran Saudi commentator, was widely recognized by rights organizations as a leading advocate for reform and free speech in the Arab world.
Activists said Trump’s remarks were an effort to obscure accountability for a killing the CIA concluded could not have occurred without high-level approval. They warned the comments risked normalizing impunity.
The crown prince reiterated earlier descriptions of the murder as “heinous” and a “grave mistake,” claiming Riyadh had strengthened internal procedures to prevent similar incidents.
Trump also dismissed questions about possible conflicts of interest linked to his family’s business dealings with Saudi Arabia, insisting he “left that success behind” upon entering office.
Analysts, however, argued Washington’s stance toward Riyadh tells a different story.
They pointed to the Trump administration’s willingness to overlook Saudi Arabia’s long record of deadly domestic repression in favor of economic and military cooperation.
/129
Your Comment