A team of independent investigators from the United Nations (UN) have released the results of their investigation and they've concluded that there is significant evidence to support the accusation that Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the assassination of former Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.
It was already apparent that Salman was responsible, but the UN's investigators went a step further and recommended sanctions.
The UN's investigators also confirmed that Khashoggi was dismembered and the crime scene was thoroughly scrubbed.
From the Associated Press:
There was also “credible evidence pointing to the crime scenes (in Turkey) having been thoroughly, even forensically, cleaned.” The report said this indicates that the “Saudi investigation was not conducted in good faith, and that it may amount to obstructing justice.”
It added there was “no reason why sanctions should not be applied against the Crown Prince and his personal assets” — noting that sanctions regimes have been put in place in the past even before guilt was determined.
The report also offers a chilling minute-by-minute account of the events surrounding the killing based on audio shared by Turkish authorities, and cites sounds of a buzzing saw that could have been used to dismember Khashoggi’s body.
So, what happens now?
I expect nothing will happen. I expect nothing will happen as long as the Trump regime remains in power and uses every tool at their disposal to not only shield the Saudi government from accountability, but also reward them.
The Trump regime claims that we can't afford to hold Saudi leadership accountable because we need their help in the fight against terrorism, but that's pure hogwash. The Saudis are responsible for just as much if not more violence and radicalism as they supposedly prevent. I personally consider the Saudis to be among the most dangerous regimes in the world.