ARTICLE 19 welcomes the release of the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnès Callamard, which calls for accountability for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, Thomas Hughes said:
“This detailed investigation by the UN Special Rapporteur presents further compelling evidence that the murder of Jamal Khashoggi was premeditated, and carried out on the orders of high level Saudi officials.
“It is imperative that the international community responds to this report by supporting criminal investigations to the acts of Crown Prince Mohamad Bin Salman and his former adviser, Saud Alqahtani, and holds the Saudi state to account for this targeted murder of a journalist. The UN Secretary General can and must act if States do not.
“The killing of Khashoggi is consistent with a long and on-going crackdown on dissent in Saudi Arabia. The release of all dissidents, journalists, and women human rights defenders, as recommended in the report, is essential to show a clear intent to prevent the recurrence of these human rights violations. Absent such a move, the UN Human Rights Council must establish a mechanism to ensure sustained scrutiny on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.
“ARTICLE 19 further supports the Special Rapporteur’s call for the establishment of an independent UN mechanism that could be rapidly mobilised to ensure criminal investigations to future killings of journalists and human rights defenders. The creation of such a mechanism demands bold leadership from UN Member States committed to press freedom.”
The full report is available here: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session41/Documents/A_HRC_41_CRP.1.docx
For more information, please contact Pam Cowburn, 07749 785 932, [email protected]