Canada sanctions 17 Saudis who have a share in killing Khashoggi

Canada has announced Thursday that it will issue sanctions against seventeen Saudis who, according to Ottawa, all have a share in the murder of the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on October 2 in Istanbul.

Canada freezes the assets of the seventeen Saudis. They are no longer allowed to enter Canada, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement. She added that she was not satisfied with the explanation given by Ryad. Canada demands a “credible and independent investigation”, said the minister during a press conference. Khashoggi, who wrote for Washington Post and was critical of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was assassinated on October 2 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Tense relationships

Since the murder there is a tense relationship between Saudi Arabia and other countries. After all, many human rights organizations and politicians demand that crown prince Mohammed bin Salman be called on the carpet. Only Russia remained loyal to its trading partner. The United States did not make a formal agreement with bin Salman for the time being. Sarah Sanders, spokesperson for the White House, does not exclude the possibility that a chance encounter and interaction between the two leaders is possible.

Furthermore, the American intelligence informed yesterday that they could not find any “direct” element that links the Saudi crown prince to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. In this way the relationship between America and Saudi Arabia is guaranteed. But well, because the enormous arms deal that closed the two countries is synonymous with hundreds of American jobs and a large sum of money for the state treasury.