NEW YORK: A New York judge on Tuesday ordered US intelligence agencies toacknowledge they possess a tape recording of the 2018 murder of SaudiArabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in a ruling hailed by rights activists.

The judge also instructed the Central Intelligence Agency and Office of theDirector of National Intelligence (ODNI) to explain why they arewithholding the tape and a CIA report on the gruesome killing.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was suffocated and dismemberedinside the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate after going inside to get documentsfor his marriage to his Turkish fiancee.

The October 2, 2018 murder sparked an international outcry and tarnishedthe reputation of oil-rich Saudi Arabia and its powerful crown prince,Mohammed bin Salman.

The CIA concluded that the young royal had been responsible for thekilling, straining relations between the United States — where Khashoggilived — and Riyadh.

President Donald Trump later said he protected Prince Salman from Congress,boasting “I saved his ass,” according to a book by veteran journalist BobWoodward.

The Open Society Justice Initiative, founded by billionaire George Soros,filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information act seeking access tointelligence agency records related to the assassination.

The CIA and ODNI rejected their request and failed to even confirm theexistence of the documents, citing national security reasons.

But federal Judge Paul Engelmayer ordered the US government Tuesday toproduce within two weeks a “Vaughn index” describing the documents it iswithholding and providing legal justification for their non-disclosure.

In his ruling, Engelmayer cited Trump’s comments in late 2018 when thepresident said, “We have the tape.”

The ruling does not order the disclosure of the documents but the OpenSociety Justice Initiative described the order as a “crucial victory inaddressing the Trump administration’s shameful cover-up” of the murder.

“The court’s judgement is a vital step towards ending impunity for themurder,” said Amrit Singh, the foundation’s lead lawyer in the case.

Riyadh initially denied that the gruesome murder happened before changingits version of events several times. It claims the killing was carried outby rogue agents acting alone.

In September, a Saudi court overturned five death sentences and handedeight defendants jail terms between seven and 20 years. -APP/AFP