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Saudi leaders acknowledge role in death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

Officials for the Royal Family in Saudi Arabia acknowledge that journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been killed claiming it was the result of a fight that began after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2, 2018. Khashoggi was a deputy editor at the Arab News newspaper based in Riyad.

Arab media report that 18 individuals have been identified as suspects in the killing which reportedly took place inside the Saudi consulate in Istandbul Turkey.

Here are the announcements released by the Saudi Embassy in Washington D.C. tonight, Friday Oct. 19, 2018:

Based on what has been submitted by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and President of the Council of Political and Security Affairs, to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on the urgent need to restructure the General Intelligence Presidency, and overhaul its rules and regulations, as well as, to determine its authorities and assess its procedures and powers within its administrative and ordered organizational sequence to ensure the proper functioning of its work and the determination of responsibilities.

As the public interest requires the formation of a committee to do so, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques issued an order, No. 7422, today on the formation of a ministerial committee chaired by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and President of the Council of Political and Security Affairs; including the membership of a number of members of the Council: HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Interior; Dr. Mousaed Al-Aiban; Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf; the Minister of Foreign Affairs; the President of General Intelligence, and the President of the State Security. The Committee shall submit the results of its work within one month of its issue date.

Jamal Khashoggi, former Saudi Royal family insider turned critic at the Washington Post, courtesy of Wikipedia

Source: https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1830336#1830336

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The second report released stated:

Official Source: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Takes Necessary Measures to Clarify Truth into Case of Citizen Jamal Khashoggi

An official source stated the following: the case of the disappearance of the Saudi citizen, Jamal Khashoggi, drew the attention of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the highest levels, and due to the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, the Kingdom took the necessary procedures to clarify the truth and began by dispatching a security team to Turkey on October 6, 2018 to investigate and cooperate with Turkish counterparts.

That was followed by the formation of a Joint Security Team between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Turkey, with permission given to the Turkish security authorities to enter the Consulate of the Kingdom in Istanbul and the residence of the Consul. Based on the Kingdom’s keenness to clarify all the facts, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has issued an order to the Public Prosecutor of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, No. 5709 dated today, to conduct further investigations into the case.

The Public Prosecutor has already investigated a number of suspects on the basis of information provided by the Turkish authorities to the Joint Security Team to determine whether any of suspects had any information or relation to what has happened since the information that was relayed to the security authorities indicated that the citizen Jamal Khashoggi had left the consulate.

In implementing the leadership’s directives based on the need to clearly know the truth and declare it transparently, the preliminary investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution showed that the suspects had traveled to Istanbul to meet with the Jamal Khashoggi; as there were indications of the possibility of his return to the country.

The results of the preliminary investigations also revealed that the discussions which took place between Jamal Khashoggi during his visit to the Kingdom’s Consulate in Istanbul and the suspects unfortunately led to an altercation between them and Jamal Khashoggi, leading to his death.

The source added that while the investigations are still ongoing into the case with 18 Saudi suspects in custody; the Kingdom expresses its deep regret at the painful developments that have taken place and stresses the commitment of the authorities in the Kingdom to bring the facts out publicly; hold all those involved accountable; bring them to justice by referring them to the courts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Source: https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1830335#1830335

A final statement released Friday night stated:

Official Source in Saudi Foreign Ministry: Kingdom’s Efforts and Measures Taken Reflect Seeking Justice and Accountability

An official source in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry stated that Royal Orders issued by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on the case of the tragic and painful event that led to the death of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi – may God rest his soul; including directives by the Attorney General to investigate the disappearance followed by the formation of a committee to review procedures and the dismissal of a number of officials, comes as a continuation of the Kingdom’s efforts to seek justice in accordance with Saudi laws, and to uphold accountability, especially if it concerns one of the Kingdom’s citizens, in a swift and decisive manner, regardless of the circumstances.

These measures reflect the leadership’s commitment to the security and well being of all Saudi citizens. It also reflects the determination of the leadership to hold those directly responsible accountable, and to ensure tragic errors like this never happen again by including corrective measures.

The source added that the Kingdom’s government appreciates the distinguished cooperation of the Republic of Turkey under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan whose efforts and cooperation importantly contributed to the investigation into the killing of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also appreciates the wise positions of countries that preferred to wait on investigation procedures and evidence; avoiding unfounded speculations and allegations.

Source: https://www.spa.gov.sa/1830343

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Managing Writer at The Arab Daily News

RAY HANANIA — Columnist

Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.

"I write about three topics, the Middle East, politics and life in general. I often take my life experiences and offer them in an entertaining way to readers, and I take on the toughest topics like the Israel-Palestine conflict and don't pull any punches about what I feel is fair. But, my priority is always about writing the good story."

Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992. Hanania began writing in 1975 when he published The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper which was distributed through 12,500 Middle East food stores in 48 American States (2004-2007).

Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues for the Arab News in Saudi Arabia at www.ArabNews.com, Middle East Monitor in London, the TheArabDailyNews.com, www.TheDailyHookah.com and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has also published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday Newspaper in New York, the Orlando Sentinel Newspapers, and the Arlington Heights Daily Herald.

Palestinian, American Arab and Christian, Hanania’s parents originate from Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.

His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.

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