People hold posters of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, near the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul, marking the two-year anniversary of his death on October 2, 2020. CPJ recently joined a call on U.S. officials to investigate Egypt’s alleged role in Khashoggi's killing. (AP/Emrah Gurel)

CPJ joins call for US to investigate Egypt’s alleged role in Khashoggi murder

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined seven other civil society groups in a joint statement calling on the United States government to transparently investigate any role Egyptian officials may have played in the killing of Saudi journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi, and to publicly disclose any findings from that investigation.

On June 21, Yahoo! News reported allegations that Egyptian intelligence officers trained the Saudi force that killed Khashoggi in 2018, and supplied the illicit drugs that were used in the murder.

The joint statement notes that, earlier this year, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on members of the Egyptian intelligence team allegedly connected to Khashoggi’s killing. This week, U.S. intelligence officials and policymakers are scheduled to meet with Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, in Washington, D.C., according to the joint statement.

In November 2018, the C.I.A. found that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, according to CPJ’s research.

The joint statement can be found here.