AFP, Riyadh :
Saudi Arabia has sought to move on from the scandal triggered by journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, but a UN expert’s report implicating its crown prince has heaped global pressure back on the kingdom, analysts say.
UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard’s report, released Wednesday, insists there is “credible evidence” to warrant further investigation and financial sanctions against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over Khashoggi’s murder last October.
The document detailing the dissident’s murder by Saudi agents at the country’s Istanbul consulate has cast a renewed spotlight on the case just as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler appeared to be emerging from the scandal.
The revelations, including audio transcripts showing the Saudi agents involved referring to Khashoggi as a “sacrificial animal”, have piled pressure on Western allies to suspend arms sales to the kingdom.
Riyadh rejects the allegations, which were likely to spur scepticism for Saudi support in the US Congress despite the prince enjoying President Donald Trump’s backing.
“A new crisis cycle is open,” Joseph Bahout, non-resident fellow at Carnegie Endowment, said on Twitter.
“Another round of international embarrassment for (Saudi Arabia) is starting now.”
On Thursday, US lawmakers voted to block Trump’s arms sales worth $8.1 billion to Saudi Arabia shortly after Britain temporarily suspended similar sales.
The decisions were not directly linked to the report, but come after virulent criticism in the US and Britain over the kingdom’s four-year bombing campaign in Yemen.
Global revulsion over Khashoggi’s murder had shone a spotlight on the Saudi-led war in Yemen, gripped by what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The UN expert’s report is unlikely to challenge Prince Mohammed’s position at home, where his grip on power “appears absolute”, said Hussein Ibish, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
“The bigger concern, I have no doubt, is the growing anti-Saudi sentiment in US Congress,” he told AFP.
“Riyadh’s relationship with Washington is not optional from a Saudi point of view. It’s essential.”
Last month, Trump bypassed the usual process of seeking a congressional green light for the arms sales, citing risks from Iran-a common foe of Riyadh and Washington.
Saudi Arabia has sought to move on from the scandal triggered by journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, but a UN expert’s report implicating its crown prince has heaped global pressure back on the kingdom, analysts say.
UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard’s report, released Wednesday, insists there is “credible evidence” to warrant further investigation and financial sanctions against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over Khashoggi’s murder last October.
The document detailing the dissident’s murder by Saudi agents at the country’s Istanbul consulate has cast a renewed spotlight on the case just as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler appeared to be emerging from the scandal.
The revelations, including audio transcripts showing the Saudi agents involved referring to Khashoggi as a “sacrificial animal”, have piled pressure on Western allies to suspend arms sales to the kingdom.
Riyadh rejects the allegations, which were likely to spur scepticism for Saudi support in the US Congress despite the prince enjoying President Donald Trump’s backing.
“A new crisis cycle is open,” Joseph Bahout, non-resident fellow at Carnegie Endowment, said on Twitter.
“Another round of international embarrassment for (Saudi Arabia) is starting now.”
On Thursday, US lawmakers voted to block Trump’s arms sales worth $8.1 billion to Saudi Arabia shortly after Britain temporarily suspended similar sales.
The decisions were not directly linked to the report, but come after virulent criticism in the US and Britain over the kingdom’s four-year bombing campaign in Yemen.
Global revulsion over Khashoggi’s murder had shone a spotlight on the Saudi-led war in Yemen, gripped by what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The UN expert’s report is unlikely to challenge Prince Mohammed’s position at home, where his grip on power “appears absolute”, said Hussein Ibish, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
“The bigger concern, I have no doubt, is the growing anti-Saudi sentiment in US Congress,” he told AFP.
“Riyadh’s relationship with Washington is not optional from a Saudi point of view. It’s essential.”
Last month, Trump bypassed the usual process of seeking a congressional green light for the arms sales, citing risks from Iran-a common foe of Riyadh and Washington.
