US Intelligence Committee urges release of report on Khashoggi's killing 'without delay'

US Intelligence Committee urges release of report on Khashoggi's killing 'without delay'
Publishing the report would ensure that Washington officially recognises Riyadh as responsible for the killing of journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.
2 min read
23 January, 2021
Adam Schiff called for details of Khashoggi's killing to be made public [Getty].
The head of the United States’ House Intelligence Committee called on Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to release a report on the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi “without delay.”

Adam Schiff in a letter on Friday urged to declassify the report - previously provided to Congress – and to reveal the details of Khashoggi’s murder in a public document.

“The importance of speaking the truth and confronting the powerful over their misconduct is at the heart of bipartisan concerns over the year-long delay in ODNI’s production of an unclassified report to Congress regarding Saudi Arabia’s culpability in the brutal, premeditated murder of Washington Post journalist and US resident, Jamal Khashoggi,” the letter read.

During her confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Haines told lawmakers that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) would release the report naming the Saudi officials involved in the assassination.

Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered in October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul after being lured there to obtain documents he needed to marry.

The Washington Post reported in November 2018 that the CIA concluded that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince directly ordered the assassination of Khashoggi, contradicting Riyadh’s initial claims that he left unharmed.

Agnès Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, said in February 2019 that evidence collected from Turkey shows Khashoggi's assassination was "a brutal and premeditated killing, planned and perpetrated."

The report will provide a test for the new Biden administration, as the recently elected president vowed during his campaign to “reassess” ties with Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi’s death and the deadly Saudi-led war on Yemen. Biden also promised to end US military support for Riyadh in Yemen.

The decision to classify the report could mean that Washington officially blames MbS for Khashoggi’s killing.

Bin Salman enjoyed positive ties with Donald Trump’s administration, which refused to publish the report on the murder.

Read also: With new US administration, the Khashoggi case could resurface

The former US president once boasted “I saved his a**” after shielding the Saudi Crown Prince from Congress’ scrutiny.

Former CIA chief, John Brennan said in October that Trump and his senior advisor, Jared Kushner had “given MBS… a pass for that horrific murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi" by failing to hold Riyadh to account.

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