The Saudi Public Prosecutor has issued a rare press release that summarized the new official version of events in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. As in the older version, the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), is absolved of any responsibility.
The Saudi Public Prosecutor has issued a rare press release that summarized the new official version of events in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. As in the older version, the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), is absolved of any responsibility.
The entire rare press release by the Public Prosecution sets forth in detail the new official narrative of events in the Khashoggi murder: The Public Prosecution said in a press briefing that through the investigation carried out up to date with the 21 suspects in the case of the murder of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi, the investigation has resulted in the following findings:
1. The incident began on 19/1/1440 (29/9/2018) upon the issuance of an order to bring back the victim by means of persuasion, and if persuasion fails, to do so by force. The former Deputy President of the General Intelligence Presidency (GIP) issued this order to the leader of the mission.
2. The leader of the mission formed a 15-member team that consisted of three groups (negotiations/ intelligence/ logistics) to persuade and return the victim. The leader of the mission suggested to the former Deputy President of the GIP to assign a former colleague to head the negotiation group in the team because of his previous relationship with the victim. This former colleague was assigned at the time to work with a former Advisor.
3. The former Deputy President of the GIP contacted the former advisor to request assignment of the individual with whom the victim had a previous relationship. The former advisor agreed to this request and asked to meet the leader of the mission.
4. The former advisor met with the leader of the mission and the negotiation team; to share with them information relevant to the mission based on his specialization in media. The former advisor expressed his belief that the victim was coopted by organizations and states hostile to the Kingdom and that the victim’s presence outside of Saudi Arabia represents a threat to national security and he encouraged the team to persuade the victim to return, noting that his return represents a significant achievement of the mission.
5. The leader of the mission contacted a forensics expert to join the team for the purpose of removing evidence from the scene in the case force had to be used to return the victim. The forensics expert joined the team without the knowledge of his superiors.
6. The leader of the mission contacted a collaborator in Turkey to secure a safe location in case force had to be used return the victim.
7. After surveying the Consulate, the head of the negotiation team concluded that it would not be possible to transfer the victim by force to the safe location in case the negotiations with him to return failed. The head of the negotiation team decided to murder the victim if the negotiations failed. The investigation concluded that the incident resulted in murder.
8. The investigation concluded that the crime was carried out after a physical altercation with the victim where he was forcibly restrained and injected with a large amount of a drug resulting in an overdose that led to his death, May Allah bless his soul.
9. The investigation has identified those that ordered and carried out the murder, totaling (5) individuals that have confessed to the murder.
10. After the murder the victim’s body was dismembered by the individuals that have committed the murder and was transferred outside the consulate building.
11. The investigation concluded that the body was removed from the Consulate building by (5) individuals.
12. The individual who delivered the body to the collaborator has been identified.
13. Based upon the description provided by the individual who delivered the body to the collaborator, a composite sketch of the collaborator has been produced.
14. The investigation identified the individual who wore the victim’s clothes after the murder and disposed of the victim’s belongings in a trash receptacle, including his watch and glasses, after leaving the Consulate building. In addition the investigation
identified the individual that accompanied him.
15. The investigation established that the surveillance cameras in the Consulate were disabled, and the investigation identified the individual responsible for doing so.
16. The investigation found that (4) suspects provided the logistical support to those who carried out the crime.
17. The investigation concluded that the leader of the mission agreed with the negotiation group and their head (that made the decision to murder the victim and carried out the crime) to write a false report to the former Deputy President of GIP that stated that the victim had left the Consulate building after the failure of negotiating or forcing his return.
Note that no names of anyone of those mentioned are given. Some of the names are identified in a post by the Moon of Alabama: «The former Deputy President of the General Intelligence Presidency (GIP), Major General Ahmed al-Asiri, issued an order to the mission leader Maher Mutreb to bring Kashoggi back to Saudi Arabia by means of persuasion or by force.
The leader of the mission formed a 15-member team that consisted of three groups (negotiations/ intelligence/ logistics) to persuade and return the victim. Mutreb consulted with the now fired advisor to MbS, Saud al-Qahtani, because Qahtani knew Khashoggi.»
No order for the murder would be given without authorization of the Crown Prince
Notice that it was the head of the negotiating team that decided to murder Khashoggi if negotiations failed. However, he surely could not have made that decision without the agreement of his superiors and ultimately the Crown Prince. The original order by Major General Ahmed al-Asiri said nothing about murder. The head of the negotiating team would have needed to clear the murder with him who in turn would have had to clear it with the Crown Prince. How the mere head of the negotiating team could have made the decision on his own is unclear.
The appended video made it clear that given the nature of the Crown Prince’s control of Saudi Arabian events it is not at all likely that the murder took place without his authorization.
The Moon of Alabama on the official narrative
The Moon article notes that the official story manages to absolve not only the crown prince but also his media advisor Saudi al Qahtani and Major General Ahmed al-Asiri. While the leader of the mission could be sentenced for falsifying the report, it is the head of the negotiation team and some of his helpers who will bear the brunt of the penalties, The article claims that all are commoners that are three or four levels below the top level of officials.
The article agrees with my own opinion arguing: «The story is of course not believable. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy. No low level employee would dare to decided to kill a person of higher interests when the order says to bring the person back alive. Neither the mission leader nor the negotiation team leader would take such a step without consulting with Riyadh.»
The Moon article argues that the murder was clearly already planned at a higher level before the team landed in Istanbul. The official explanation of why the forensic expert was there makes little sense. He was obviously there with his bone saw to dismember the body. One would not bring someone who looks like the victim to make it look like he walked out of the embassy in case something bad happened. Of course the forensic expert would not go without the permission of his superiors.
Where is the body and why is the person who received it not identified?
The narrative has returned to the view that the body was turned over to a local collaborator.
