FBI Declines To Comment On UN Recommendation To Probe Khashoggi Killing

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2019) A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) spokesperson has declined to comment on whether it would follow through with recommendations of a UN report to open an investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

"We do not have a comment for you at this time," the spokesperson said.

A report by UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard earlier on Wednesday called on the FBI to investigate bin Salman's role in the October 2018 killing of the Washington Post journalist to determine whether the de facto Saudi ruler should be punished under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

The act allows the US to sanction corrupt government officials for abuses anywhere in the world.

Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, went missing last October after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Riyadh initially denied any knowledge of the journalist's whereabouts but eventually admitted that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the embassy.

Saudi authorities have charged 11 people with Khashoggi's murder but have repeatedly denied any involvement by the royal family.

In the United States, President Donald Trump has accepted Saudi Arabia's claim that the crown prince was not aware of what Riyadh has called a rogue operation.