Under the “blessings” of the State Department, under the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the military training received by the executors of Jamal Kasogi.
New details in the case of the execution of the Saudi journalist Jamal Kasogi in 2018 were published by The New York Times, where it reports that four of the members of the group that killed and dismembered the journalist at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, had received paramilitary education in the US with the “green light” of the State Department under the governments of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
The Jamal Kasogki e pikritis the Saudi government after decades considered absolutely loyal and adjacent to the monarchy, had emigrated to the US and wrote articles in The Washington Post newspaper, was murdered on October 2 at the consulate of his country in Istanbul agents group had sent especially for this purpose from Riyadh.
Among these agents, the New York newspaper assures, the four were trained by the American private company Tier 1 Group, under a mandate originally given by the State Department in the days of Barack Obama, in 2014. The training continued at least at the beginning. Donald Trump’s tenure, according to a Times report .
The newspaper mainly relies letter to Trump Government of the parent company of senior Tier 1 Group, the investment fund Cerberus, view his hearing in Congress, and was named by the tycoon candidate for a seat at the defense ministry, according to RES EIA.
In the letter, Louis Bremer confirmed that the Tier 1 Group had indeed provided training to Saudi agents but insisted that their training was ” defensive in nature ” and had ” nothing to do with their subsequent heinous actions “.
Mr Bremer told the Times that the four members of the execution team had been trained in 2017 and that the two had already received a first version of the training from October 2014 to January 2015.
The State Department, contacted by Agence France-Presse, said it was unable to comment on the report, but insisted that Washington was calling for “responsible use” of the “equipment” and “training” provided. offered by the USA.
Joe Biden’s government is “considering appropriate responses when violations occur,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
According to a US report released in February, seven members of a select unit tasked with protecting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were members of the group that assassinated Jamal Kasogi. The Times did not say whether the four US-trained agents belonged to the unit.
The four were trained in shooting, attack prevention, surveillance and cluster combat.
The journalist’s body, dismembered on the spot, was never found.
While initially denying involvement in the crime, Riyadh changed its version and claim that the murder was committed by Saudi agents acting alone due to excessive zeal. Following an opaque trial in Saudi Arabia, five Saudis were sentenced to death and three others to life in prison. The death sentences were later commuted.
The US Secret Service had ruled that the assassination of Jamal Kasogi was at least approved, if not ordered, by the Saudi Crown Prince. The Donald Trump administration has come under fire for not imposing any sanctions on Riyadh, as has the former Republican president himself for publicly acknowledging that he did not want to question the multibillion-dollar arms deal.
