The “sheer brutality” of the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the “chilling” message it sends about press freedom has shocked people, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said. Mr Coveney, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, met Saudi ambassador to Ireland, Nail Al Jubeir, in Dublin on Thursday and expressed his concern about Mr Khashoggi’s disappearance. “The chilling nature of this in terms of the message that it sends out to journalists and to the freedom of the press and media I think is really what has shocked people here as well as the sheer brutality of what we suspect happened,” said Mr Coveney. Irish business group Ibec cancelled a conference in Dublin on Thursday to promote business links with Saudi as the wave of controversy over Mr Khashoggi’s likely murder has grown. The Saudi ambassador was due to have spoken at the event hosted jointly by the country’s largest business representative group and the Irish Saudi Arabia Business Council.

Source: The Irish Times October 19, 2018 18:45 UTC