STRASBOURG—The European Parliament has called on EU countries to unite and impose an EU-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In a resolution adopted on Thursday, MEPs condemn in the strongest possible terms the torture and killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey. They also call for an impartial, international investigation into his death to find out what actually happened inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October, and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
The text notes that the murder is unlikely to have happened without the knowledge or control of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
On Tuesday, parliament president Antonio Tajani called for an international inquiry into the death of Jamal Khashoggi. “This Parliament will always be at the forefront of defending the freedom of the press and journalists”, Tajani said, calling for a rigorous, international inquiry to clarify the circumstances of the murder.
MEPs also called on EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and on the member states to stand ready to impose targeted sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes against Saudi individuals, once the facts have been established.
The parliament also urged member states to take the initiative at the next UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on 5 November to raise the issue of membership of the council for states with deeply questionable human rights records, including Saudi Arabia .
Saudi Arabia admitted that Khashoggi had died inside its diplomatic mission in Istanbul, having previously insisted he had left the consulate alive. His death, Saudi Arabia said, was the result of an argument and fight with other men at the consultate.
However, on Tuesday, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, rubbished these claims, and instead maintained that Khashoggi’s “savage” murder was premeditated and carried out by a hit squad.
In a speech in the Turkish parliament, Erdogan said he was not satisfied with Riyadh’s suggestion that the killing was a rogue extradition operation gone wrong, and called for the “highest ranked” of those responsible to be brought to justice.