Washington: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman popularly known as MBS was “responsible” for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said Nikki Haley, the United States’ outgoing UN ambassador. Haley explicitly blamed Saudi Crown Prince for Khashoggi’s murder and said that Saudi Arabia should not “get a pass”.
Middle East Eye has quoted her as saying, “It was the Saudi government, and MBS is the head of the Saudi government. So they are all responsible, and they don’t get a pass, not an individual, not the government – they don’t get a pass.” She suggested having a serious hard talk with the Saudis.
On the other hand, US President Donald Trump has continued to publicly support Saudi Crown Prince and said on Tuesday that the Saudi crown prince “vehemently denies” involvement in the death of Khashoggi.
It must be noted that Khashoggi who was killed in Saudi consulate in Istanbul was named “person of the year” by Time Magazine alongside other journalists killed and imprisoned in 2018.
He was killed more than two months ago by a Saudi hit squad in an operation that is widely suspected to have been ordered by MBS.