Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman dodges blame for Jamal Khashoggi killing

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince says he takes “full responsibility” for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi but that it is impossible for him to know what all government workers are up to.

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Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is trying to repair damage to his image done by Jamal Khashoggi’s murder by insisting “layers and layers” of hierarchy separated him from the killers, a UN investigator says.

Mohammad bin Salman told US 60 Minutes that as de facto Saudi leader he ultimately bore “full responsibility” for the killing a year ago, but he denied ordering it.

He made similar remarks to US broadcaster PBS.

Asked how he did not know about the killing by Saudi officials, he told CBS it was impossible for him to know “what three million people working for the Saudi government do daily”.

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Picture: AFP

In an interview with Reuters, UN expert on summary executions Agnes Callamard attributed his remarks to a “strategy of rehabilitation in the face of public outrage around the world”.

“He is creating a distance between himself, he is exonerating himself from direct criminal responsibility in the killing,” she said.

“He is creating layers, and layers and layers of actors and institutions which are protecting him from his direct accountability for the killing.”

A protester wears a mask of depicting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman with red painted hands next to people holding posters of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi during the demonstration outside the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul. Picture: AFP

She spoke before joining Khashoggi’s family and friends in Istanbul on Wednesday to mark the murder’s first anniversary.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of the crown prince, was murdered on October 2 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Suspects in the case of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (unseen) at Istanbul's Ataturk airport. Picture: AFP

His dismembered body has never been found. A global outcry ensued and led to US Treasury sanctions on 17 Saudi individuals and a Senate resolution blaming Prince Mohammed.

Saudi officials have denied suspicions in the CIA that the crown prince, known as MbS, ordered the killing.

Eleven people are on trial in Saudi Arabia, although Callmard has voiced concerns over a potential miscarriage of justice.

Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has denied ordering Jamal Khashoggi’s death. Picture: Reuters

Originally published as Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman dodges blame for Jamal Khashoggi killing