US says Saudi prince permitted Khashoggi’s murder

The report released by the Biden administration says the prince approved a plan to either capture or kill the US-based Saudi exile.  It is the first time America has publicly named the crown prince, who denies ordering the death.

"We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," the report by the office of the US director of national intelligence says.

As far back as 2018, the CIA reportedly believed that the crown prince had ordered the murder but the allegation that he was involved has never been made publicly by US officials until now.

US President Joe Biden is expected to take a firmer line than his predecessor Donald Trump on human rights and the rule of law in Saudi Arabia, a key American ally in the Middle East.

In a phone call on Thursday with the crown prince's father, King Salman, the president "affirmed the importance the United States places on universal human rights and the rule of law", the White House said.

Jamal Khashoggi, a 59-year-old journalist, was last seen entering the Saudi embassy in the Turkish capital, Istanbul, on October 2, 2018.

According to Saudi officials, Jamal Khashoggi was given an injection to control his condition, and during a physical altercation, he received an overdose of the injection, which led to his death. After which his body was dismembered and handed over to some local helpers.

No trace of his body has been found since then.

Information released by Turkish intelligence agencies, including some audio material, revealed shocking details.

Khashoggi had previously served as an adviser to the Saudi government, but later fell out of favour with the Saudi ruling family and left the country for the United States in 2017. In the United States, he began writing critical columns for the Washington Post on Muhammad bin Salman's policies.

In his first column, he wrote that he was afraid of being arrested in Saudi Arabia because Muhammad bin Salman was trying to silence all his opponents.

 In his last column, he sharply criticised Saudi Arabia's attack on Yemen.