Germany is imposing an entry ban on 18 Saudi citizens who are believed to be connected to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday on the sidelines of a European Union meeting in Brussels.
The Foreign Ministry in Berlin last week called on Saudi Arabia to conduct a seamless and transparent investigation after Riyadh announced it had charged 11 people in Khashoggi’s case.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman set to address Shura council.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman is expected to make his annual address to the kingdom’s Shura council, following a nation-wide tour with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In his speech on Monday, King Salman bin Abdulaziz will present Saudi Arabia’s internal and external policy, and inaugurate the proceedings of the Shura council, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The expected address comes as members of the US Congress renewed their calls to condemn the kingdom following an assessment by the CIA that the crown prince personally ordered the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The US president said on Fox News there’s “no reason” for him to listen to an audio recording of Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Trump confirmed the US has the recording, which was provided by Turkey, but told “Fox News Sunday” that “I don’t want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape”.
He said being briefed was enough and he did not want to hear the audio because it’s a “suffering tape, it’s a terrible tape”, in the interview recorded on Friday.
The killing was “very violent, vicious and terrible”, Trump said.
Later on Sunday, Trump said MBS told him directly he had nothing to do with Khashoggi’s killing. Trump also said he wonders: “Will anybody really know?”