International

Trump administration imposes sanction on Saudi diplomat over Khashoggi killing

President Trump’s administration imposed a sanction against a Saudi diplomat in Turkey and other individuals suspected of human rights violations Tuesday.

The State Department has announced 72 sanctions designations since last week, forbidding people who are accused of “gross violations of human rights” and their families from entering the U.S., a statement from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. 

Two people were publicly designated Tuesday, including Mohammed al Otaibi, the former head of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed. The department called again on Saudi Arabia to conduct a “full, fair, and transparent trial” involving those associated with Khashoggi’s death.

The other publicly designated individual is Aslan Iraskhanov, the head of ministry of internal affairs for the city of Grozny in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, who is “credibly alleged” of executing 27 men.

“These designations underscore our support for international human rights, and promoting accountability for gross violators of human rights,” a department statement reads. 

The department reports it has designated 97 people and entities in 2019 under the Global Magnitsky sanctions program. Other designated individuals come from Burma, Pakistan, Libya, Slovakia, South Sudan, Congo and Russia, The Associated Press reported

“Together, we must strive to ensure those who have committed such acts are cut off from the benefits of access to our financial systems and our shores,” Pompeo wrote.

The announcement came on the day after International Anticorruption Day and on International Human Rights Day, according to Pompeo’s statement. 

Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist, was killed in the Saudi Consulate in October of 2018 after writing criticism about the Saudi crown prince, who some suspect directed Khashoggi’s killing. Lawmakers have called on the U.S. government to do more to condemn the killing as the U.S.’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has become more complex.

Tags Donald Trump Khashoggi killing Mike Pompeo sanctions Saudi Arabia

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