Jamal Khashoggi’s gruesome assassination WAS ordered by Saudi Crown Prince, CIA concludes
The CIA has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, the reports.
The finding contradicts Saudi government assertions that he was not involved, and that the murder was ordered by an intelligence officer.
The Post said on Friday US officials have expressed high confidence in the CIA assessment, which is the most definitive to date linking Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler to the killing.
The investigation and conclusion is sure to complicate President Donald Trump's efforts to preserve ties with one of the closest American allies in the region.
Journalist Jamal Khashoggi - who did himself write for the Washington Post as a columnist - vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018.
It was weeks before the Kingdom admitted to murdering the 59-year-old.
Khashoggi was known as an outspoken and high-profile critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The circumstances surrounding Khashoggi's death sparked controversy, with global leaders blasting the Saudi government's version of events.
Khashoggi went to the Saudi consulate to obtain a document certifying he had divorced his ex-wife, so that he could marry his Turkish fiancée Cengiz.
She waited outside - and never saw him again.
The Saudi government remained silent for nineteen days, before claiming he died during a fight inside the Saudi consulate.
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Their claims followed reports from Turkish investigators and intelligence agencies that it was a premeditated strike.
It has been reported that Khashoggi was deliberately tortured and killed in a disturbing seven-minute execution.
The reports claim he was choked to death by Saudi assassins who rolled his body up in a rug and smuggled it out of their consulate in Istanbul.
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