RIYADH – Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Wednesday denounced the murder ofcritic Jamal Khashoggi as a “heinous crime”, insisting the kingdom wascooperating with Turkish authorities and “justice will prevail”.
“The crime was very painful to all Saudis. And it is painful, heinous toevery human being in the world,” Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in hisfirst comments since the murder of the journalist.
“Those behind this crime will be held accountable… in the end justicewill prevail,” he said during an address to the Future InvestmentInitiative Forum in Riyadh.
Saudi leaders have denied involvement in Khashoggi’s murder inside SaudiArabia’s Istanbul consulate on October 2, pushing responsibility down thechain of command.
But the kingdom is under mounting international pressure over the killingamid US accusations of a monumental cover-up by the kingdom.
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Prince Mohammed, widely known as MBS, said Saudi Arabia was working withthe Turkish authorities to investigate the case.
“Many are trying to exploit the Khashoggi affair to drive a wedge betweenSaudi Arabia and Turkey,” he said.
“But they will not succeed as long as there is a king named Salman and acrown prince named Mohammed bin Salman.” – APP/AFP
