Saudi Crown Prince: Khashoggi Murder ‘Happened Under My Watch’

Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, has taken responsibility for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 by Saudi operatives inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

MBS who spoke publicly for the first time on the murder of Khashoggi in a PBS documentary which will be released next week, said he decided to take responsibility for the murder because it happened under his watch though without him knowing about it.

“It happened under my watch. I get all the responsibility, because it happened under my watch,” he told PBS’ Martin Smith, according to a preview of a documentary, “The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia,” set to air on Oct. 1, ahead of the one-year anniversary of Khashoggi’s death

The Saudi Crown Prince’s statement came after he was accused by the CIA and some Western governments of ordering the hit, a claim the Saudi government initially denied but later blamed on some rogue operatives.

When asked how such attack could be planned without him knowing, “We have 20 million people. We have 3 million government employees,” MBS said.

On if the killers could have taken private government jets, the crown prince responded: “I have officials, ministers to follow things, and they’re responsible. They have the authority to do that.”

Before MBS made the public statement on the murder of Khashoggi who was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding, Reuters reported that the murder prosecutor said Saud al-Qahtani, a former top royal adviser gave orders over Skype to the killers and also briefed the hit team on Khashoggi’s activities before the operation.