King Salman sacks intelligence officers, advisor to the court
Khashoggi died during brawl at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul
Manama: King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud has relieved Ahmad Bin Hassan Bin Mohammad Asiri, the Vice-President of General Intelligence, and Saud Bin Abdullah Al Qahtani, Advisor to the Royal Court, of their posts.
In a second order, King Salman terminated the services of Assistant Chief of General Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bin Saleh Al Rumaih, Assistant to the Head of General Intelligence for Human Resources, Major General Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Shaya and the Director of the General Directorate of Security and Protection at the General Intelligence General Rashad Bin Hamed Al Mohammadi.
The sacking of the high-ranking officers and official was announced shortly after the kingdom’s Attorney General said that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi died during a fistfight at the general consulate in Istanbul.
“Preliminary investigations carried out by the Public Prosecution Office in the disappearance of Saudi citizen Jamal Bin Ahmad Khashoggi revealed that the discussions that took place between him and the persons who met him during his presence at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul led to a brawl and a fist fight, which led to his death, may his soul rest in peace,” the Attorney General said in a statement.
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office affirms that its investigations continue in this case with 18 detainees so far, all of whom Saudi nationals, in order to uncover and announce all the facts, and to hold accountable all those involved in this case and bring them to justice.”
King Salman also ordered the formation of a ministerial committee to address the “urgent and pressing need to restructure the General Intelligence Presidency, modernise its system and regulations, define its powers accurately, and assess the procedures, methods and powers governing its work and administrative and structural workflow to ensure proper functioning and the determination of responsibilities.”
The committee is headed by Crown Prince and Chairman of the Council of Political and Security Affairs and comprises the Minister of Interior, the President of the Royal Court, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Head of General Intelligence, the President of the State Security, Dr Mousaed Al Aiban and Dr Ebrahim Al Assaf.
The committee has one month to present its work, according to the order