British Foreign Secretary Dominic Rap has announced sanctions against foreigners accused of human rights violations, including senior Saudi figures accused of involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The British Foreign Office said that Saud Al-Qahtani - who was an adviser to the Saudi Royal Court - had planned and managed the killing of Khashoggi, with the assistance of a team of 15 people.
These measures are part of a new British penal code, and Rapp unveiled its features on Monday before the House of Representatives (Parliament).
The British minister said the law would freeze the assets of those involved in human rights violations and prevent them from entering the United Kingdom.
Khashoggi, Magnitsky and Rohingya
The sanctions include 20 Saudis, 25 Russians, two officers from Myanmar and two organizations from North Korea, against the backdrop of several cases, most notably the assassination of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, the death of Russian tax advisor Sergei Magnitsky in his prison in Moscow in 2009, and violations against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Al-Jazeera's correspondent in London, Mina Harboulo, said that the most prominent targeted Saudis are Saud Al-Qahtani, former adviser to the Royal Court, Ahmed Asiri, former deputy director of intelligence and other intelligence officers.
The British Foreign Office said that Al-Qahtani planned and directed the killing of Khashoggi, and that Asiri was involved in the crime and was a senior official on the team.