In the report published on Friday, the US intelligence service states that the 35-year-old Crown Prince must have approved in advance the plan to either abduct or murder Khashoggi.
Journalist and regime critic Jamal Khashoggi, who lived in the United States, was assassinated inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, when he was to collect marriage documents in order to marry his fiancée.
"Biden wants to send a signal"
Even before the report was released, it has been discussed, according to Stina Blomgren, whether it will affect the relationship between the countries.
- Saudi Arabia is one of the United States' most important allies here in the Middle East, but it has been very clear from the beginning that President Joe Biden has wanted to take a different path.
- Just that Biden chooses to publish this previously classified information shows that he wants to send a signal that crimes against humanity should not be tolerated in this way.
He wants to mark.
He has called Saudi Arabia a pariah state during the election campaign and this simply signals a new chapter.
Sanctions against Saudis
Saudi Arabia or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have not yet commented on the allegations.
But the United States has already announced visa restrictions against 76 Saudi citizens and direct sanctions against people in Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's own security force who are said to have participated in the assassination.
No direct sanctions have been imposed on the Crown Prince.