Bin Salman shirk responsibility for torturing and killing Khashoggi
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is trying to turn a blind eye on many of the events taking place in the Kingdom and claiming to not know about it and that he is not aware of everything going on around him.
The Crown Prince alleged that he was unaware of the news that had been raised several months earlier that the detained activist, Lujane Hathloul, had been tortured in her custody, saying that he would “personally pursue this matter”.
With regard to the demands for her release bin Salman, during an interview with the US network CBS: “This decision is not dependent on me, it is the prosecutor, an independent prosecutor,” he said.
Regarding her torture, he added: “If this is true, it is very heinous. Islam prohibits torture and is condemned by Saudi laws and human conscience. I will personally pursue this matter.”
Noura O’Donnell, a 60-minute interviewer, attempted to confirm the Crown Prince’s follow-up on Lujain Hathlul’s case himself, replying to Mohammed bin Salman.
When asked about the detention of 10 Saudi activists for more than a year, the Crown Prince said: “The Kingdom is a state governed by laws.”
He commented on the existence of a crackdown and imprisonment for women who raise issues related to things that need to be changed in the Kingdom, saying: “This perception hurts me when some people look at the picture from a very narrow angle. And to judge for themselves.”
It is noteworthy that the Lujain al-Hathloul rejected an offer from the authorities of the House of Saud for parole, in return for withdrawing accusations of torture and threats of rape suffered by her jailers.
When asked about the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, bin Salman claimed that he did not order the operation, vowing to prosecute all those involved, whatever their rank or position, and acknowledging full political responsibility for what happened.
Bin Salman said there were no reports from the US administration that he had ordered the killing of Khashoggi, stressing that the relationship between Riyadh and the United States was “far greater than the Khashoggi incident.”
