16 Saudi Citizens Banned from Entering the U.S. in Connection with Khashoggi's Murder

On Monday, April 8, the U.S. State Department announced that 16 Saudi citizens have been placed on a travel ban list due to their "role" in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist critical of the Saudi Crown Prince. Saud al-Qahtani, a senior advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is among these 16 individuals. Al-Qahtani had previously been sanctioned by the U.S. The State Department stated that these 16 individuals are banned under Section 7031 of a law related to the U.S. State Department. It clarified that these individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the U.S. Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2 but did not exit. In the early days of the media coverage of Khashoggi's murder, Saudi Arabia vehemently denied the crime, but after 17 days, it acknowledged his death, labeling the murder as the act of a "rogue team" and the result of an "unintended altercation." The list of the 16 banned Saudis was released on the same day that reports emerged of 12 women’s rights activists, including two American-Saudi citizens, being detained by Saudi security forces. The U.S. Secretary of State has repeatedly emphasized that Washington will work to ensure that those involved in Khashoggi's murder are brought to justice. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has rejected requests from various countries to cooperate with the United Nations for investigations into Khashoggi's murder, asserting that the accused have been brought to justice. Earlier, Bandar bin Mohammed al-Aiban, head of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, stated at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva that "we have taken the necessary actions to address this heinous crime." More than 30 countries, including all members of the European Union, Canada, and Australia, issued a statement criticizing the Saudi government and calling for cooperation with UN investigations into Khashoggi's death.