[[{"content_id":"2983","domain_id":"0","lang_id":"en","portal_id":"2","owner_id":"83","user_id":"2","view_accesslevel_id":"0","edit_accesslevel_id":"0","delete_accesslevel_id":"0","editor_id":"0","content_title":"Speculations fueled as whether Saudi king\u2019s bodyguard killed over Khashoggi\u2019s murder","content_number":"","content_date_event":"2019-10-01 11:46:56","content_summary":" \r\n\r\nNew reports have emerged in online media pointing to a possible link between the recent killing of the personal bodyguard of Saudi King Salman and the gruesome murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad last year.","content_summary_fill":"0","content_body":" \r\n\r\nNew reports have emerged in online media pointing to a possible link between the recent killing of the personal bodyguard of Saudi King Salman and the gruesome murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad last year.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAccording to the official report released by Saudi sources, Major General Abdul Aziz al-Fagham, 47, was shot dead by a close friend identified as Mamdouh bin Meshaal al-Ali during a melee described by Saudi police as a “personal dispute” in a friend’s house in the western city of Jeddah on Saturday night. He succumbed to his wounds a day later.\r\n\r\nThe shooter refused to surrender to security forces, who had surrounded the site and shot him dead, the police statement further said, adding that another Saudi, a Filipino and five members of the security forces also sustained gunfire injuries.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe British tabloid newspaper The Sun speculated in a Monday article that al-Fagham, who had served former Saudi King Abdullah since 2002 and incumbent King Salman since 2015 as a protection officer, “may have had explosive dirt on Jamal Khashoggi’s killers” before being shot dead in the suspicious gunfight.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nPressTV-Bodyguard of Saudi king shot dead in mysterious case\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\nA long-time personal bodyguard of Saudi Arabia’s king is shot dead in what is officially being described as a “personal dispute,” though suspiciously few details have been given about the killing.\r\n\r\n\r\nKhashoggi, a former advocate of the Saudi royal court who later became a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed after being lured into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, and his body was dismembered by a Saudi hit squad.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe gruesome murder is believed to have been directly ordered by the crown prince, who is also known as MbS and seen as the de facto ruler of the Arab kingdom. However, the Saudi government claims that the ill-fated journo was killed by a “rogue” group, denying that the crown prince had ordered the slaying.\r\n\r\nThe report by the The Sun further speculated that al-Fagham, who was affectionately known as the king’s “walking stick” by the royal court insiders, had allegedly been recently relieved of his post with rumors circulating that he might have had vital information on Khashoggi’s assassination.\r\n\r\nAl-Fagham was the head of the royal palace’s guards that murdered the dissident journalist.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\nIn a related development and in a report on Sunday, the New York Times, citing an unnamed person familiar with the case, said it was not yet clear what had motivated the shooter to kill his friend, al-Fagham, but around the time of the killing “Saudi officials reached out to regional intelligence sources to ask for urgent help in gathering and analyzing information about a number of Saudi citizens.”\r\n\r\n\r\nThe report further quoted the individual as saying that the push for information came from King Salman and MbS. However, it was not yet fully known who the Saudi leaders were seeking information about and whether that effort might have been related to the shooting of al-Fagham.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nPressTV-MBS speaks about Khashoggi, attempts to divert blame\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\nSaudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attempts to portray himself as not having been involved in the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.\r\n\r\n\r\nSpeaking to CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, Crown Prince Mohammed attempted to portray himself as not having been involved in the brutal murder, and while denying an ability to keep an eye on everything, said he “took full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia” for Khashoggi’s murder “because it happened under my watch.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nUN expert raps Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi remarks\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn another development on Monday, Agnes Callamard, a United Nations special rapporteur who conducted an investigation into Khashoggi’s murder, lambasted MbS for trying to create a “distance” between himself and the gruesome execution.\r\n\r\nCallamard, whose independent investigation into Khashoggi’s execution found “credible evidence” linking MbS to the murder and an attempted cover-up, strongly dismissed the crown prince’s defense as “problematic.”\r\n\r\n\r\n“He is only taking corporate responsibility for the crime, which goes without saying,” Callamard said, condemning the crown prince for taking “no personal responsibility for the crime.”\r\n\r\n\r\n“He is creating huge distance between himself and the crime” by arguing that he cannot be personally held responsible for the conduct of all Saudi government employees, the UN official further said.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nPressTV-Some of Khashoggi killers enjoy 'impunity': Erdogan\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\nThe murder squad served the interests of a shadow state within the Saudi government, Erdogan argues.\r\n\r\n\r\nCallamard also said that the interview, which contains Prince Mohammed’s first public remarks on the matter, appeared to mark a concession by the de facto ruler that “the killing of Mr. Khashoggi was a state killing,” hence, a rejection of the Saudi government’s previous explanation that the responsibility for the execution lay with “rogue” agents. \r\n\r\n\r\n“For the last 12 months, the Saudi state, their various representatives and (MbS) included have been lying to the international community regarding the nature of the crime. So now we are supposed to take his word that, yes, he has a corporate responsibility but he has no personal responsibility?” Callamard asked, adding, “Not good enough.”\r\n\r\n\r\nThe Washington Post, for which Khashoggi was a columnist, reported in November last year that the CIA had concluded that Mohammed ordered his killing. Furthermore, an investigative team led by the United Nations (UN) also said that it believed MBS was the prime suspect in the state-sponsored murder. Washington has refused to formally implicate Mohammed, however.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nPressTV-Saudi Arabia's killing of Khashoggi\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\nThis edition of The Debate, Press TV hosts discussions about Saudi Arabia's Killing of Khashoggi and the "state murder" of the journalist according to UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions.\r\n\r\n\r\nUntil now, and despite the international attention that the state-sponsored murder has continuously received, 34-year-old Mohammed had refused to speak about his role in the killing.\r\n\r\nWith all evidence pointing to him for direct involvement, his acceptance of general responsibility for the murder is seen as an attempt — even if belated — at looking like a political leader answerable on important matters.\r\n\r\n ","content_html":"
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New reports have emerged in online media pointing to a possible link between the recent killing of the personal bodyguard of Saudi King Salman and the gruesome murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad last year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

According to the official report released by Saudi sources, Major General Abdul Aziz al-Fagham, 47, was shot dead by a close friend identified as Mamdouh bin Meshaal al-Ali during a melee described by Saudi police as a \u201cpersonal dispute\u201d in a friend\u2019s house in the western city of Jeddah on Saturday night. He succumbed to his wounds a day later.<\/p>\n\n

The shooter refused to surrender to security forces, who had surrounded the site and shot him dead, the police statement further said, adding that another Saudi, a Filipino and five members of the security forces also sustained gunfire injuries.<\/p>\n\n

\n

The British tabloid newspaper The\u00a0Sun<\/em> speculated in a Monday article<\/a> that al-Fagham, who had served former Saudi King Abdullah since 2002 and incumbent King Salman since 2015 as a protection officer, \u201cmay have had explosive dirt on Jamal Khashoggi\u2019s killers\u201d before being shot dead in the suspicious gunfight.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

PressTV-Bodyguard of Saudi king shot dead in mysterious case<\/a><\/div>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\"PressTV-Bodyguard<\/a><\/div>\n\n

A long-time personal bodyguard of Saudi Arabia\u2019s\u00a0king is shot dead in what is officially being described as a \u201cpersonal dispute,\u201d though suspiciously few details have been given about the killing.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

Khashoggi, a former advocate of the Saudi royal court who later became a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed after being lured into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, and his body was dismembered by a Saudi hit squad.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

The gruesome murder is believed to have been directly ordered by the crown prince, who is also known as MbS and seen as the de facto ruler of the Arab kingdom. However, the Saudi government claims that the ill-fated journo was killed by a \u201crogue\u201d group, denying that the crown prince had ordered the slaying.<\/p>\n\n

The report by the The Sun<\/em> further speculated that al-Fagham, who was affectionately known as the king\u2019s \u201cwalking stick\u201d by the royal court\u00a0insiders, had allegedly been recently relieved of his post with rumors circulating that he might have had vital information on Khashoggi\u2019s assassination.<\/p>\n\n

Al-Fagham was the head of the royal palace\u2019s guards that murdered the dissident journalist.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\n

In a related development and in a report<\/a> on Sunday, the New York Times<\/em>, citing an unnamed person familiar with the case, said it was not yet clear what had motivated the shooter to kill his friend, al-Fagham, but around the time of the killing \u201cSaudi officials reached out to regional intelligence sources to ask for urgent help in gathering and analyzing information about a number of Saudi citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

The report further quoted the individual as saying that the push for information came from King Salman and MbS. However, it was not yet fully known who the Saudi leaders were seeking information about and whether that effort might have been related to the shooting of al-Fagham.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

PressTV-MBS speaks about Khashoggi, attempts to divert blame<\/a><\/div>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\"PressTV-MBS<\/a><\/div>\n\n

Saudi Arabia\u2019s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attempts to portray himself as not having been involved in the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

Speaking to CBS\u2019s 60 Minutes on Sunday, Crown Prince Mohammed attempted to portray himself as not having been involved in the brutal murder, and while denying an ability to keep an eye on everything, said he \u201ctook full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia\u201d for Khashoggi\u2019s murder \u201cbecause it happened under my watch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

UN expert raps Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi remarks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

In another development on Monday, Agnes Callamard, a United Nations special rapporteur who conducted an investigation into Khashoggi\u2019s murder, lambasted MbS for trying to create a \u201cdistance\u201d between himself and the gruesome execution.<\/p>\n\n

Callamard, whose independent investigation into Khashoggi\u2019s execution found \u201ccredible evidence\u201d linking MbS to the murder and an attempted cover-up, strongly dismissed the crown prince\u2019s defense as \u201cproblematic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\n

\u201cHe is only taking corporate responsibility for the crime, which goes without saying,\u201d Callamard said, condemning the crown prince for taking \u201cno personal responsibility for the crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\u201cHe is creating huge distance between himself and the crime\u201d by arguing that he cannot be personally held responsible for the conduct of all Saudi government employees, the UN official further said.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

PressTV-Some of Khashoggi killers enjoy 'impunity': Erdogan<\/a><\/div>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\"PressTV-Some<\/a><\/div>\n\n

The murder squad served the interests of a shadow state within the Saudi government, Erdogan argues.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

Callamard also said that the interview, which contains Prince Mohammed\u2019s first public remarks on the matter, appeared to mark a concession by the de facto ruler that \u201cthe killing of Mr. Khashoggi was a state killing,\u201d hence, a rejection of the Saudi government\u2019s previous explanation that the responsibility for the execution lay with \u201crogue\u201d agents.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\n

\u201cFor the last 12 months, the Saudi state, their various representatives and (MbS) included have been lying to the international community regarding the nature of the crime. So now we are supposed to take his word that, yes, he has a corporate responsibility but he has no personal responsibility?\u201d\u00a0Callamard asked, adding,\u00a0\u201cNot good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

The Washington Post<\/em>, for which Khashoggi was a columnist,\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0in November last year that the CIA had concluded that Mohammed ordered his killing. Furthermore, an investigative team led by the United Nations (UN) also said that it believed<\/a> MBS was the prime suspect in the state-sponsored murder. Washington has refused to formally implicate\u00a0Mohammed, however.<\/p>\n\n

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\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

PressTV-Saudi Arabia's killing of Khashoggi<\/a><\/div>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\"PressTV-Saudi<\/a><\/div>\n\n

This edition of The Debate, Press TV hosts discussions about Saudi Arabia's Killing of Khashoggi and the \"state murder\" of the journalist according to UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

Until now, and despite the international attention that the state-sponsored murder has continuously received, 34-year-old Mohammed had refused to speak about his role in the killing.<\/p>\n\n

With all evidence pointing to him for direct involvement, his acceptance of general responsibility for the murder is seen as an attempt \u2014 even if belated \u2014 at looking like a political leader answerable on important matters.<\/p>\n\n

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