US To Release Report Implicating Saudi Crown Prince In Khashoggi Death Next Week - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th February, 2021) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the US will release a report next week with conclusions alleging that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of the kingdom's national, journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in 2018, The Washington Post reported, citing unidentified sources.

According to the media outlet, the report will provide an unclassified summary of findings across the intelligence community.

The US Congress passed a law in 2019 obliging the administration of then President Donald Trump to submit such an unclassified report, however the president ignored this demand. The media outlet links the release of the report with Joe Biden election pledges related to transparency.

The release of the report will likely push the already strained US-Saudi relations to new lows, the publication said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said early February that the United States was reviewing its partnership with Saudi Arabia to make sure that it was consistent with US interests and values.

The administration of Joe Biden has already canceled arms sales to Riyadh in an attempt to end war in Yemen, where Saudi forces have been conducting a military operation since 2015. Washington is also critical about human rights abuses and the harassment of dissidents practiced by the Saudi authorities.

Khashoggi went missing in 2018 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Saudi government initially denied any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts, but eventually admitted that he was killed and dismembered inside the consulate. The government sentenced eight suspects for their role in Khashoggi's death and has repeatedly denied allegations that members of the royal family were involved in the murder.