Connect with us

News

‘Credible evidence’ linking Saudi crown prince to Khashoggi murder

Published

on

There is “credible evidence” linking Saudi Arabia’s crown prince to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last October, an independent UN rights expert said Wednesday, calling for an international investigation.

In a fresh report, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Agnes Callamard said she had “determined that there is credible evidence, warranting further investigation of high-level Saudi Officials’ individual liability, including the Crown Prince’s.”

The report stressed that “no conclusion is made as to guilt. The only conclusion made is that there is credible evidence meriting further investigation, by a proper authority, as to whether the threshold of criminal responsibility has been met.”

Callamard said for instance that she had found evidence that “Khashoggi was himself fully aware of the powers held by the Crown Prince, and fearful of him.”

Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Riyadh initially said it had no knowledge of his fate, but later blamed the murder on rogue agents.

Saudi prosecutors have absolved the crown prince and said around two dozen people implicated in the murder are in custody, with death penalties sought against five men.

Callamard has been conducting what she has described as “an independent human rights inquiry” into Khashoggi’s death.

UN special rapporteurs are also independent and do not speak for the world body.

– Criminal investigation –
In Wednesday’s report, she said she found that the probes conducted so far by Saudi Arabia and Turkey had “failed to meet international standards regarding the investigation into unlawful deaths.”

She urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to launch an official international criminal investigation into the case, which she said would make it possible to “build-up strong files on each of the alleged perpetrators and identify mechanisms for formal accountability, such as an ad hoc or hybrid tribunal.”

She also called on the FBI in the United States, where Khashoggi was a resident, to open an investigation into the case, if it has not already done so, “and pursue criminal prosecutions within the United States, as appropriate.”

For her investigation, Callamard said that, among other things, she had viewed CCTV footage from inside the consulate of the killing itself.

The report identified by name the 15 people she said were part of the mission to kill Khashoggi and suggested that many of them were not on the list of 11 unnamed suspects facing a closed-door trial over the murder.

Wednesday’s report also found that there was evidence that “Saudi Arabia deliberately used consular immunity to stall Turkey’s investigations until the crime scene could be thoroughly cleaned.”

“In view of my concerns regarding the fairness of the trial of the 11 suspects in Saudi Arabia, I call for the suspension of the trial,” she said in the report.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Army Buries 17 Personnel Killed in Okuama Community

Published

on

By

The 17 military personnel killed in Okuama community in Delta on March 14 have been laid to rest.

The corpses of the soldiers, which arrived at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja at about 2:26 pm on Wednesday, were committed to mother death after burial rites were observed.

President Bola Tinubu, Service Chiefs and other dignitaries were in attendance at the burial ceremony.

DAILY POST recalls that the troops of 181 Amphibious Batallion, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, while on a peace mission to Okuoma Community were ambushed and killed by some irate youths.

The incident occurred when the troops responded to a distress call following a communal crisis between Okuoma and Okoloba communities in Delta State.

The personnel comprised one Lieutenant Colonel, two Majors, one Captain and 13 soldiers.

The officers are Commanding Officer 181 Amphibious Battalion, Lt. Col. A.H Ali; Maj S.D Shafa (N/13976); Maj D.E Obi (N/14395) and Capt U Zakari (N/16348).

The soldiers are SSgt Yahaya Saidu (#3NA/36/2974); Cpl Yahaya Danbaba (1ONA/65/7274); Cpl Kabiru Bashir (11NA/66/9853); LCpl Bulus Haruna (16NA/TS/5844); LCpl Sola Opeyemi (17NA/760719); and LCpl Bello Anas (17NA/76/290).

They also include LCpl Hamman Peter (NA/T82653); LCpl Ibrahim Abdullahi (18NA/77/1191); Pte Alhaji Isah (17NA/76/6079); Pte Clement Francis (19NA/78/0911); Pte Abubakar Ali (19NA/78/2162); Pte Ibrahim Adamu (19NA/78/6079) and Pte Adamu Ibrahim (21NA/80/4795).

DailyPost

Continue Reading

News

Thomas Yormah Emerges As New WAEC Chairman

Published

on

By

By Eric Elezuo

The West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) has a new Chairman, he is Prof. Thomas Brima Rick Yormah, a former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Fourah Bay College and former Pro ViceChancellor, University of Sierra Leone as the 21st Chairman of Council.

According to a statement signed by Demianus G. Ojijeogu, the Head, Public Affairs, WAEC Headquarters, Accra, Ghana, Yormah was elected during the just concluded 72nd Annual Council Meeting of the body, held in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He succeeds Prof. Ato Essuman from the Republic of Ghana.

The highpoint of the week-long Council meeting was the recognition and honoring of three Ghanaian candidates with the WAEC International Excellence Award for their outstanding performance in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2023. They were Master Amo-Kodieh Leonard Kofi, (1st Prize), Master Dzandu Selorm, (2nd Prize), and Master Asenso-Gyambibi Daniel (3rd Prize). The three candidates were selected from 2,327,342 who sat the examination in The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

In the same vein, the Augustus Bandele Oyediran Award for the Best Candidate in West Africa, 2023 also went to Master Amo-Kodieh Leonard Kofi. In addition, two candidates from the Republic of Sierra Leone were honoured with the National Distinction, while one candidate received the National Merit Award. They were Miss. Mammah E. A. Raymonda, (1st Prize), Master Bangura Joshua, (2nd Prize), and Master Fillie Sahr Edward (Merit Award).

While the 71st edition of the Council meeting was hosted by Gambia, the next edition, which will be the 73rd in the series, will be hosted by Liberia.

Continue Reading

News

Kidnapped Edo PDP Chairman Regains Freedom

Published

on

By

The kidnapped chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, has been released.

Dr. Aziegbemi, who was set free by his abductors in the early hours of Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Report has it that he got to his Benin City residence at about 3am to the waiting arms of family and close friends.

“I am back home with my family. I am fine. I am just trying to rest and will talk to you later,” he was quoted as saying.

Dr. Aziegbemi, a former member of the House of Representatives, who represented Esan North-East/Esan South-East federal constituency of Edo State, was kidnapped on Friday, March 15, 2024 when his abductors who rode in two Toyota Corolla cars, trailed him after he left a meeting.

The gunmen overtook Aziegbemi’s sports utility vehicle (SUV) at a speed break as it slowed down along Osaro Street, off Country Home Road, close to his house at about 11pm on Friday night before seizing him.

It is not clear yet if a ransom was paid for his release as the abductors had reportedly demanded a sum of N50 million before setting him free.

Continue Reading

Trending