France has adopted sanctions against 18 nationals saudis suspected of involvement in the murder of the journalist saudi Jamal Khashoggi at the consulate of his country on October 2, in Istanbul, announced on Thursday 22 November, the French ministry of foreign Affairs. “These measures, decided by the ministry of the Interior, are intended to prohibit the access of these individuals to the national territory as well as the whole of the Schengen area,” said the Quai d’orsay in a press release. “These are precautionary measures, which are likely to be reviewed, or extended depending on the progress of ongoing investigations “, he added.
Bets slots and the not to Berlin, which has announced similar sanctions on Monday. These measures have been taken ” in consultation with the european partners, Germany in particular “, stressed the ministry. On 15 November, the United States has also announced financial sanctions targeted – including a freeze of their assets on us soil – against 17 officials from saudi arabia. The murder of columnist, critical of the kingdom, had caused a wave of shock the world and greatly tarnished the image of saudi Arabia, including crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is accused by the press and by the Turkish officials anonymous to have given the order to kill Khashoggi. “The French reserves to form, when the time came, his own conviction,” noted the Quai d’orsay by calling the saudi authorities to ” a response that is transparent, detailed and comprehensively on the circumstances of the murder “.
The attorney general of saudi arabia has for the time being charged 11 people – out of a total of 21 suspects – and required the death penalty against five of them, but has completely cleared the crown prince. The head of european diplomacy Federica Mogherini on Thursday ruled in Ankara that those who are “really responsible” for the murder of the journalist must ” give account “. The question of the involvement of the crown prince constitutes a “red line,” warned his side the saudi minister of foreign Affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, in an interview with the BBC. Regardless of the case Khashoggi, “France is studying with its european partners the possibility of a sanctions mechanism of the cross-sectional nature, allows the european Union to take in the future the necessary measures in case of serious violations of human rights,” added the Dock without more details.
