Saudi crown prince grins over question on rendering apology to Khashoggi's family: Report

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday left the press in discomfort after he smirked at NBC News' question on whether he would ever render an apology to Jamal Khashoggi's family. The presser came shortly after MBS met with visiting US President Joe Biden.

"MBS had a slight smirk" when NBC reporter Peter Alexander threw a question at the celebrated crown prince at the end of the press pool spray. However, the Saudi leader responded with what could be described as a sarcastic smile just when his aide "grabbed" Alexander's arm tightly. The NBC reporter narrated the experience through a Twitter post. Another reporter present at the presser too confirmed MBS' reaction to Peter's question.

Who was Jamal Khashoggi?

To note, Khashoggi was a Middle East correspondent for Washington Post who had penned scathing articles against MBS and the Saudi government. Open criticism of the Saudi crown prince did not bode well with the royals. In October 2018, Khashoggi, a US-based journalist, was brutally slain in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul at the age of 59. He is also known to have covered significant stories about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the emergence of Osama Bin Laden as the ferocious leader of Al-Qaeda. During his self-imposed exile in the US, he wrote the first column slamming MBS' policies in Saudi, adding that he feared a crackdown ordered by the prince.

Khashoggi was at the Saudi Consulate to collect a document confirming his divorce so that he could marry his fiance Hatice Cengiz. He was last seen on CCTV footage on October 2, accompanied by Cengiz, entering the consulate building. The US, later in a report released by US President Joe Biden's administration, in 2021 directly indicated MBS' involvement in Khashoggi's murder. "We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved the operation in Istanbul...to capture or kill the journalist," the declassified report by US National Intelligence Office (CIA) said.

Biden claims MBS 'not personally responsible' for Khashoggi's murder

Previously critical of MBS, Biden on Friday met with the Saudi crown prince with a friendly fist bump. The American President, however, tried to downplay the loads of blistering criticism that erupted after the images of his gesture were broadcast, saying that he raised the issue of Khashoggi's killing. “With the respect to the murder of Khashoggi, I raised it at the top of the meeting, making it clear what I thought of it at the time, and what I think of it now,” Biden said. “I made my view crystal clear. I said very straightforwardly, for an American president. To be silent on the issue of human rights is inconsistent or inconsistent with who we are and who I am," he added.

Speaking to reporters, Biden advocated for MBS, saying that the Crown Prince assured him of "not being personally responsible" for the outrageous killing of the journalist. "He basically said that he was not responsible. I indicated that I thought he was," Biden said, despite knowing that the CIA likely has evidence of bin Salman's involvement in the slaying of the Washington Post columnist. Following the presser, he arrived for a meeting with Bin Salam that was previously not supposed to take place as told by the White House.

(Image: AP)