Germany decided on Monday to sanction 18 Saudi citizens suspected of being part of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder last October. Germany will not reveal their names. They will not be able to access the Schengen area anymore. The only way for them to enter the zone would be if each state explicitly issues them a national visa.
On Thursday, the United States said they will start financial sanctions against 17 Saudi officials including members of Saudi Prince Mohammed Ben Salmane’s close guard, and Mohammad Al-Otaibi, General Consul of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul (Turkey).
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered on the 2nd of October by Saudi agents in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul. Drugged and dismembered, the journalist was an important collaborator of the Washington Post. 21 people are suspected according to the office of the Prosecutor General in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). 11 were charged and Attorney General requested death penalty for five of them.
Turkey, however, considers the explanations provided by the Saudi prosecutor’s office to be “insufficient”. Head of Turkish diplomacy Mevlüt Cavusoglu, considers the measures to be “positive”, he insisted on the premeditated nature of the murder of the Saudi journalist. He said that he refuses Saudi version that the murderers first wanted to bring Jamal Khashoggi back to their country.
Saudi diplomat Adel-al-Jubeir told the press that his country refused the international investigation requested by Ankara on Wednesday, and also stated that the Crown Prince had “nothing to do” with Khashoggi’s murder.
