One of the suspects involved in the Saudi state-sponsored killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 has been detained at an airport near Paris, media reports say.
Reports quoting judicial and airport sources said the suspect had been arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris on Tuesday.
Khalid Alotaibi, a former Royal Guard of Saudi Arabia, was reportedly detained by border police on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by Turkey, just before taking a flight to Riyadh.
He is due to appear before prosecutors on Wednesday. Alotaibi is believed to have been involved in the killing of Kashoggi over three years ago.
Khashoggi was killed and his body dismembered inside Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate in October 2018. Saudi Arabia initially issued conflicting stories about Khashoggi’s disappearance, but eventually claimed he had been killed in a “rogue operation.” However, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is widely believed, including by the CIA, to have personally ordered the murder.
The arrest comes days after French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Saudi Arabia, becoming the first major Western leader to visit the country since the murder of Khashoggi. Macron met Mohammad bin Salman during that visit.
Khashoggi’s murder sparked international outrage that continues to reverberate. But Macron said it was “impossible to engage with the region while ignoring Saudi Arabia.”
Source: Press TV
