During a press briefing in London hosted by human rights groups, Callamard said, “It has the jurisdiction or at least the interest to take action”.
A demonstrator holds a poster picturing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and a lightened candle during a gathering outside the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul. (File Photo: AFP)
UN human rights expert who conducted an independent probe into the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi urged the US to act on her findings on Tuesday.
Agnes Callamard, a UN special rapporteur who concluded that Khashoggi’s death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October was “an extrajudicial execution” by the Gulf kingdom, criticised the United States over its inaction.
During a press briefing in London hosted by human rights groups, Callamard said, “It has the jurisdiction or at least the interest to take action”.
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She further added, “Silence is not an option. Speaking up is required but not enough. We have to act”.
“Washington could act either through an FBI investigation (or) a civil law investigation… (or) the declassification of CIA and other materials” she added.
“All of those things I believe can be done and should be done.”
Saudi journalist and columnist for the Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi, was killed inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
Callamard launched her investigation in January and last month released a 101-page report that found “credible evidence” linking Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the murder and an attempted cover-up.
“I was not granted any access to the CIA, the US Department of Justice or other Trump officials”.
Callamard has called on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to initiate an international criminal investigation into the case.
Khashoggi was last seen entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. His body has never been found.
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