'Credible evidence' linking Saudi's Crown Prince to Khashoggi's murder: report

United Nations: There is ‘credible evidence’ linking Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a report by UN expert said on Wednesday.

The expert also said that UN chief should launch international probe over Khashoggi murder.

There was no immediate reaction from Riyadh which was sent the 100-page report in advance - but the kingdom has regularly denied accusations that the prince was involved.

Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, called for countries to widen sanctions to include the Crown Prince and his personal assets, until and unless he can prove he has no responsibility.

Khashoggi, a critic of the prince and a Washington Post columnist, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct 2 where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding.

His body was dismembered and removed from the building, the Saudi prosecutor has said, and his remains have not been found.

 “It is the conclusion of the Special Rapporteur that Mr. Khashoggi has been the victim of a deliberate, premeditated execution, an extrajudicial killing for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible under international human rights law,” Callamard said in her report based on a six-month investigation.

Callamard went to Turkey earlier this year with a team of forensic and legal experts and said she received evidence from Turkish authorities.

 “There is credible evidence, warranting further investigation of high-level Saudi officials’ individual liability, including the Crown Prince’s”, she said.

 “Indeed, this human rights inquiry has shown that there is sufficient credible evidence regarding the responsibility of the Crown Prince demanding further investigation,” she added.