Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said he bears responsibility for the killing of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi because it “happened under my watch.” The son of King Salman of Saudi Arabia made the comments on a PBS interview documentary set to be aired in the US next week.
The Crown Prince said, “It happened under my watch. I get all the responsibility because it happened under my watch.”
This is the first time the Crown Prince, known by many as MBS, has publicly taken responsibility for the slaying in which the CIA, UN, and some Western countries implicated the royal. Saudi officials have insisted he had no role in the assassination, and after Khashoggi’s death came to light, the Crown Prince called it a “heinous crime” while promising justice.
MBS was asked by interviewer Martin Smith how an act like this could happen without his knowledge to which Mohammed bin Salman responded, “We have 20 million people. We have 3 million government employees.”
He was also asked about the murderers taking the government’s private jets, and MBS skirted around the question and said, “I have officials, ministers to follow things, and they’re responsible. They have the authority to do that.”
Jamal Khashoggi went to the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey, in October 2018 to get documents needed for his upcoming marriage. He never left the embassy. He died 2 October, and as a vocal opponent of both the King and Crown Prince, suspicions were immediately raised regarding his death causing a global uproar.
The documentary “The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia” will air on 1 October.