Updated 1 March 2021 at 12:36 IST
Khashoggi murder: 3 names mysteriously removed from US report after initial publication
United States (US) intelligence changed the report on Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and removed the name of three Saudi men it had previously termed as complicit.
- World News
- 3 min read
Soon after the US intelligence published the long-awaited report on the gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi and stated that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman approved the operation to capture or kill the Washington Post columnist, it was taken down and replaced with a rendered version that removed the names of three names it had initially termed complicit. As per the CNN report, the silent switch in the report by the United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence went largely unnoticed as the backlash against President Joe Biden grew as he failed to punish the Saudi Crown Prince even after declaring MBS responsible in no uncertain terms.
Reportedly, the first link to the report by the United States intelligence community went dead while it was replaced with another version that did not have the name of the three men it had previously said, “participated in, ordered, or were otherwise complicit in or responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi." As per the report, the ODNI, which sent out the link denied to clarify the reason behind the names originally on the list and the role they had played in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi if they had any.
An ODNI spokesperson told the media outlet, “We put a revised document on the website because the original one erroneously contained three names which should not have been included.” Meanwhile, on Friday, a senior Biden administration official had argued before the change was noticed that the second report had no different information. Reportedly, the official had said, “This [is] information that has been known to the U.S. government and briefed to select committees and members of Congress over one year ago.” However, the three names were not present in the second report.
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US released report on Jamal Khashoggi murder
On Friday, the United States released the report on the gruesome October 2018 murder of Khashoggi to the public and stated MBS responsible for the capturing and killing of the Saudi journalist. The report’s executive summary states, "We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.” However, Saudi Arabia has 'completely rejected' the US report and termed the US allegations false.
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"We base this assessment on the Crown Prince's control of decision-making in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman's protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince's support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi," the report says.
Published By : Aanchal Nigam
Published On: 1 March 2021 at 12:39 IST