Étiquettes

, , ,

(Crédits : Reuters)
Dans un documentaire dont la chaîne PBS a dévoilé un extrait avant sa diffusion la semaine prochaine, le 1er octobre à la veille du premier anniversaire de la mort du journaliste saoudien, MBS dit assumer le meurtre du journaliste saoudien « car cela est arrivé sous sa direction », mais veut laisser croire qu’il n’est pas directement impliqué.

Le prince Mohammed ben Salman, héritier du trône saoudien, reconnaît pour la première fois porter la responsabilité du meurtre du journaliste Jamal Khashoggi, dans un documentaire qui sera diffusé la semaine prochaine.

« C’est arrivé sous ma direction. J’assume toute la responsabilité, parce que c’est arrivé sous ma direction », dit le prince dans ce documentaire dont la chaîne PBS a dévoilé un extrait avant sa diffusion, le 1er octobre, à la veille du premier anniversaire de la mort du journaliste saoudien.

Le prince héritier serait le commanditaire selon la CIA notamment

La CIA et plusieurs pays occidentaux considèrent le prince héritier comme le commanditaire du meurtre, ce que Ryad a jusqu’ici démenti. L’assassinat a soulevé une vague d’indignation et Mohamed ben Salman n’a effectué depuis aucun déplacement aux États-Unis ni en Europe.

Après de multiples déclarations contradictoires, les autorités saoudiennes ont reconnu que Jamal Khashoggi, qui s’était exilé aux Etats-Unis, avait été tué et démembré par des agents saoudiens ayant agi selon elles de leur propre initiative.

Implication personnelle du prince héritier

Onze suspects doivent être jugés dans le cadre d’une procédure tenue secrète, mais seules quelques audiences ont eu lieu. Une commission d’enquête l’ONU a annoncé en juin détenir des preuves de l’implication personnelle du prince héritier.

La fiancée de Khashoggi, Hatice Cengiz, a confié lors d’un événement en marge de l’Assemblée générale des Nations unies qu’elle avait deux questions à poser à Mohamed ben Salman: qui a donné l’ordre de le tuer et pourquoi ?

« En avouant cela, il prend également ses distances par rapport au meurtre de Jamal », a-t-elle déclaré, par l’intermédiaire d’un interprète.

« Il dit que cela s’est passé sous sa direction, mais il veut dire qu’il n’est pas impliqué dans ce crime. Sa déclaration est une pure manoeuvre politique. »

——————————————————————————————————-

Khashoggi murder ‘happened under my watch,’ Saudi crown prince tells PBS

 

(Corrects second paragraph to reflect prince’s previous comments)

RIYADH, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said he bears responsibility for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year by Saudi operatives “because it happened under my watch,” according to a PBS documentary to be broadcast next week.

It is the first time that Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has publicly indicated personal accountability for the killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by operatives seen as close to him. The CIA and some Western governments have said they believe he ordered it, but Saudi officials say he had no role.

The death sparked a global uproar, tarnishing the crown prince’s image and imperilling ambitious plans to diversify the economy of the world’s top oil exporter and open up cloistered Saudi society. He has not since visited the United States or Europe.

“It happened under my watch. I get all the responsibility, because it happened under my watch,” he told PBS’ Martin Smith, according to a preview of a documentary, “The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia,” set to air on Oct. 1, ahead of the one-year anniversary of Khashoggi’s death.

After initial denials, the official Saudi narrative blamed the murder on rogue operatives. The public prosecutor said the then-deputy intelligence chief ordered the repatriation of Khashoggi, a royal insider who became an outspoken critic, but the lead negotiator ordered him killed after discussions for his return failed.

Saud al-Qahtani, a former top royal adviser whom Reuters reported gave orders over Skype to the killers, briefed the hit team on Khashoggi’s activities before the operation, the prosecutor said.

Asked how the killing could happen without him knowing about it, Smith quotes Prince Mohammed as saying: “We have 20 million people. We have 3 million government employees.”

Smith asked whether the killers could have taken private government jets, to which the crown prince responded: “I have officials, ministers to follow things, and they’re responsible. They have the authority to do that.” Smith describes the December exchange, which apparently took place off camera, in the preview of the documentary.

A senior U.S. administration official told Reuters in June the Trump administration was pressing Riyadh for “tangible progress” toward holding to account those behind the killing ahead.

Eleven Saudi suspects have been put on trial in secretive proceedings but only a few hearings have been held. A U.N. report has called for Prince Mohammed and other senior Saudi officials to be investigated.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding. His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found.

At an investment conference in Riyadh a few weeks after the murder, the crown prince called it a “heinous crime” and a “painful incident”, promising to bring to justice those responsible.

Reporting by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Gerry Doyle, William Maclean