The US state department has refused to say whether Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is one of the Saudi officials subject to US visa restrictions under the new “Khashoggi ban”. The ban is named after the Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, whose murder and dismemberment in 2018 was approved by the crown prince, according to a US intelligence assessment declassified on Friday. On Monday, the state department spokesperson, Ned Price, would not say whether Prince Mohammed was on the list. When pressed on the crown prince, he added: “I’m not including or excluding anyone specifically on that list. Price and the White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, were repeatedly pressed on Monday on whether the omission of direct sanctions on the crown prince implied impunity for senior officials in the commission of atrocities.

Source: The Guardian March 01, 2021 23:30 UTC