The CIA concluded last month that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed and dismembered in Turkey in October 2018. On Monday, the Saudi Press Agency reported that eight people have been convicted in a secret show trial for the murder, with five sentenced to death and three to prison terms. The prince was not among them. Amnesty International had something to say about that today:
A UN report released by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, in June 2019 concluded that Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of "an extrajudicial killing for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible under human rights law." Saudi Arabia failed to cooperate with Special Rapporteur Callamard during her investigation.
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Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's Middle East Research Director, said:
"This verdict is a whitewash which brings neither justice nor the truth for Jamal Khashoggi and his loved ones. The trial has been closed to the public and to independent monitors, with no information available as to how the investigation was carried out.
"The verdict fails to address the Saudi authorities' involvement in this devastating crime or clarify the location of Jamal Khashoggi's remains.
"Saudi Arabia's courts routinely deny defendants access to lawyers and condemn people to death following grossly unfair trials. Given the lack of transparency from the Saudi authorities, and in the absence of an independent judiciary, only an international, independent and impartial investigation can serve justice for Jamal Khashoggi."
Callamard tweeted Monday: “Bottom line: the hit-men are guilty, sentenced to death. The masterminds not only walk free. They have barely been touched by the investigation and the trial. That is the antithesis of Justice. It is a mockery.”
And from the White House? Mumbles. A senior official of the Trump regime blurped: “This is an important step in holding those responsible for this terrible crime accountable, and we encourage Saudi Arabia to continue with a fair and transparent judicial process,”
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At Daily Kos on this date in 2005—Does War Make Presidents Kings?
Despite much noisemaking, even from non-conservative sources, it is now clear that legal justification for President Bush's authorization of warrantless domestic electronic surveillance rests entirely on the argument that Article II of the Constitution vests the Executive with plenary Commander in Chief powers which can not be restricted by the other branches of our federal government. The Justice Department's feeble apologia for the President's actions makes clear that the claim that FISA permits what the President has authorized is based on the view that if FISA does NOT permit it, then FISA is unconstitutional.
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Greg Dworkin expounds on the Christianity Today editorial and its fallout, and shares a fascinating analysis of Trump anger and black voter turnout. Spies and assassins lurk everywhere, and half of our Congressional Gang of 8 are on their team.
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