According to resources, Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, reacted to the US inaction in imposing sanctions on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for ordering the assassination of Riyadh-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
According to Reuters, Agnes Callamard said on Monday evening that the United States had identified the Saudi Crown Prince as the mastermind of Khashoggi’s assassination but had taken no action against him, which was “very dangerous”.
Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, she reiterated his call for sanctions against Mohammed bin Salman, the seizure of his property abroad, and the restriction of international interactions with him.
“What has been revealed in this report is really scant and extremely disappointing, I expect more evidence to emerge from [Bin Salman’s role in this crime],” the UN official said after viewing the US intelligence report on Khashoggi’s murder.
“I find it very difficult to acknowledge someone’s guilt and then say, ‘We are not doing anything and please act as if we have not done anything,'” Agnes Callamard told Reuters. “I think this is a very dangerous move by the United States.”
“There is a lot that US government can do,” she said. “The only thing it cannot do is to remain silent and take no action on its findings.”
“We will not impose sanctions on the leaders of countries with which we have disagreements or problems,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said Monday evening in response to calls for a boycott.
The US government on Friday published a report on the assassination of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi and a columnist for the Washington Post, alleging that the assassination was carried out on the direct orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The report, released by the US National Intelligence Agency, stated that Mohammad bin Salman had issued an operational permit to “arrest” or “kill” Jamal Khashoggi.
