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The former head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service MI6 believes “very compelling” evidence indicates that the Saudi crown prince was behind the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“It’s very hard not to point a finger at Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” John Sawers said in an interview Friday on Britain’s Channel 4.
Sawers also maintained that the prince likely would not have moved against Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who disappeared Oct. 2, unless he was convinced he had nothing to fear from the U.S.
“They must have thought they could somehow get away with it because the Trump administration wouldn’t hold them to account,” Sawers said.
He also told BBC Radio 4: “All the evidence points to [the killing] being ordered and carried out by people close to Mohammed Bin Salman. I don’t think he would have done this if he hadn’t thought he had license from the U.S. administration to frankly behave as he wishes to do so.”
Sawers, who headed MI6 until 2014, added, “I think President Trump and his ministerial team are waking up to just how dangerous it is to have people acting with a sense that they have impunity in their relationship with the United States.”
Sawers spoke before the Saudi government finally admitted Friday that Khashoggi did, in fact, die inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul soon after arriving to receive paperwork. A statement on state TV said that the journalist died during a physical altercation. Eighteen people have been arrested as the government conducts an investigation into Khashoggi’s death.
Full Story: [HuffPost]
