Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman denies knowledge of torture of female activist

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman denies any knowledge about the allegations of torture of a female activist. The allegations have also been denied by the public prosecutor.

Activist's family bring torture allegations

The family of Loujain al-Hathloul who was arrested in a crackdown last year have alleged that the campaigner has faced repeated torture and sexual harassment while in prison. The family also claims Loujain was threatened with rape. The torture was claimed to be overseen by the Saudi al-Qahtani the Crown Prince's "right-hand' man.

Hathloul is one of ten other women activists who are on trial on charges that are described as bogus by Amnesty International.

Hathioul is one among other detainees who have complained of being subject to electric shocks, flogging, and groping while in detention.

The deal to release Hathloul

An August article reports: "Saudi authorities have offered to release jailed activist Loujain al-Hathloul in exchange for her video testimony denying that she had been tortured and sexually harassed in prison, her family claimed on Tuesday. The Saudi state security has visited my sister in prison recently. They have asked her to... appear on video to deny the torture and harassment," her brother Walid al-Hathloul, who is based in Canada, said on Twitter."That was part of a deal to release her." "

Bin Salman's interview

In an interview on CBS Bin Salman replied when asked whether the torture reports were true said: "If this is correct, it is very heinous. Islam forbids torture. The Saudi laws forbid torture. Human conscience forbids torture." Bin Salman said he would personally follow up on the allegations. The public prosecutor has already ruled that the allegations are false. However, several human rights organizations have claimed to have verified the allegations.

Saudi Arabia's criminal code also prohibits torture but human rights organizations have routinely accused the Saudis of torture.

Bin Salman claims arrested activists have contacts with foreign agencies

Last year in another interview on CBS said: "They have connections with agencies of other countries. They have a network, connection with government people, leaking information for the sake these other governments. Secret intelligence.We have some of them with videos. We can show it to you." However, no such videos were ever released or seen by reporters.

Ironically the arrest of other Hathiloul and other prominent female activists who campaigned for the right of women to drive came just weeks before the government actually lifted the ban on women driving.

UN human rights experts urge that Hathloul be released

The experts released a statement saying: "It is shocking hypocritical that Ms al-Hathloul remains in prison for campaigning to change laws which have since been amended. Indeed, she should never have been imprisoned in the first place for exercising her fundamental rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. In spite of recent improvements in Saudi Arabia's male guardianship laws, it is imperative that the world does not lose sight of the human rights concerns which persist in the country, as human rights defenders have continued to express."

Bin Salman involvement suspected in Khashoggi murder

Wikipedia reports on the murder: "The assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident, journalist for The Washington Post and former general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel, occurred on 2 October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey and was perpetrated by agents of the Saudi Arabian government.[4][5] The exact cause of his death is unknown since his body has not been located or examined.[6][7][8] Government officials of several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, believe Khashoggi was murdered. Turkey in particular believes it was premeditated murder, and anonymous Saudi officials have admitted that agents affiliated with the Saudi government killed him.[6][9]"

The Saudis have never admitted that Bin Salman was involved but a critical UN report suggested that he be investigated. The CIA is reported to have concluded that Bin Salman ordered the Khashoggi murder.

US president is a strong supporter of BIn Salman.

UN report finds Crown Prince Salman was in involved in Khashoggi murder

(June 19)Agnes Callamard, UN special rapporteur found in a thorough and quite critical report that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a brutal and premeditated killing carried out by top Saudi officials including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

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Callamard's conclusion

In her report Callamard wrote: "Evidence points to the 15-person mission to execute Mr. Khashoggi requiring significant government coordination, resources, and finances. Every expert consulted finds it inconceivable that an operation of this scale could be implemented without the crown prince being aware, at a minimum, that some sort of mission of a criminal nature, directed at Mr. Khashoggi, was being launched."

Details of Khashoggi's final moments

The report of just over a hundred pages also included new details of the Khashoggi's final moments. Callamard, who listened to audio tapes provided by Turkish authorities, says that two Saudi agents Maher Mutreb and Dr. Salah Tubaigy discussed how they would dismember and dispose of Khashoggi's body only minutes before he entered the Istanbul Saudi consulate. He went there to pick up marriage papers.

Tunbaigy told Mutreb: "Joints will be separated. First time I cut on the ground. If we take plastic bags and cut it into pieces, it will be finished." Mutreb said Khashoggi was a sacrificial animal accord to an audio that Callamard obtained.

According to Callamard assessments of recording by Turkish intelligence Khashoggi may have been injected with a drug and then suffocated using a plastic bag. The Saudis immediately rejected the report: "The minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, tweeted it was “nothing new … the report of the rapporteur in the human rights council contains clear contradictions and baseless allegations.”"

Khashoggi's body or body parts have not yet been found. In spite of all the evidence the Trump administration has not blamed the Crown Prince. Trump has even smeared Khashoggi and warned that it would not be a good idea to break relations with the Saudis as this could result in higher oil prices.

Callamard wants further investigations

Callamard said her findings, after five months of investigation, suggest there should be further probes into the Saudi Crown Prince's role in the murder along with those of other Saudi officials. The report also calls for the US government to have the FBI launch an investigation into the execution of Mr. Khashoggi and even suggests that criminal prosecutions within the US would be appropriate.

Callamard recommends that trial of 11 suspects be suspended

Callamard said that the trial of the eleven suspects identified by the Saudis should be suspended, as the trial was shrouded in secrecy and lacked credibility. Callamard said: “Some eight months after the execution of Mr Khashoggi, the determination and assignment of individual responsibilities remain clouded in secrecy and lack of due process...To date the Saudi state has failed to offer public recognition of its responsibility for the killing of Mr Khashoggi, and it has failed to offer an apology to Mr Khashoggi’s family, friends and colleagues for his death and for the manner in which he was killed."

The CIA had already concluded Salman was involved in the killing last fall as reported on the appended video. However, this has not influenced Trump's attitude.

Trump to bypass Congress to sell arms to the Saudis

Trump appears to take the view that Saudi Arabia is an important ally and a big purchaser of arms from the US. He thinks that this is more important than Saudi's involvement in the murder of Khashoggi and its terrible human rights record.

A recent article notes: "President Donald Trump's administration on Friday bypassed Congress to sell $8.1 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies, citing a threat from Iran, infuriating lawmakers who fear the weapons could kill civilians in Yemen. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration would circumvent the required review by Congress to approve 22 arms transfers to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, saying that the freeze on sales by Congress could affect the Arab allies' operational abilities."

Previously published in the Digital Journal