US refuses to say if Saudi Crown Prince is one of the 76 officials subjected to visa ban

The United States state department has refused to mention if Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is one of the 76 officials subjected to the visa restrictions under the new “Khashoggi ban”, reported the Guardian. The ban on Saudi officials is named after the Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi who was brutally murdered in October 2018, which now US intelligence says was approved by the crown prince, according to the assessment made public on Friday. 

The US President Joe Biden administration has said that at least 76 Saudi nationals are subjected to the visa ban that also covers the officials who are deemed to have intimidated Saudi dissidents in the United States or involved in the efforts. On March 1, State Department spokesperson Ned Price would not say whether the Saudi Crown Prince was on the list. As per the report, Price said, “We’re not in a position to detail the identity of those included in that list of 76, nor will we be able to preview those who may be added in the future.”

When the State Department was pressed further on the matter, he said, “I’m not including or excluding anyone specifically on that list...Having said that, I’m certainly not aware of any plans for the crown prince to travel to the United States in the near term.” Prince reportedly also laid out a “recalibration” of America’s relations with the kingdom which he insisted was “not a rupture”. Over the weekend, Biden had also said that there would be an announcement of the “significant” changes in the policies with Saudis on Monday.

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Khashoggi's fiancee says 'this is not enough'

However, Prince reportedly summarised the steps taken on Friday after the US revealed the long-awaited intelligence assessment on the gruesome murder of the Saudi journalist. Since Friday, the Biden administration has come under heavy criticism for not targeting the 35-year-old heir to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Earlier, Khashoggi’s fiancee Hatice Cengiz had said on the US report, “Yet this is not enough, since the truth can only be meaningful when it serves justice being achieved. The truth is now so clear as it is irrefutable and it certainly cannot be disregarded. Following this report there is no longer any political legitimacy for the Crown Prince; it is time to say this very clearly and openly, and to act on it.”

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