On Thursday, November 15, 2018,the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions under the Magnitsky Act against seventeen Saudi officials for their alleged role in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The sanctioned individuals are:
- ABAHUSSAIN, Mansour Othman M;
- ALARIFI, Naif Hassan S.;
- ALBALAWI, Fahad Shabib A;
- ALBOSTANI, Meshal Saad M;
- ALHARBI, Thaar Ghaleb T;
- ALHAWSAWI, Abdulaziz Mohammed M;
- ALMADANI, Mustafa Mohammed M.;
- ALOTAIBI, Badr Lafi M.;
- ALOTAIBI, Khalid Aedh G.;
- AL-OTAIBI, Mohammad;
- ALQAHTANI, Saif Saad Q.;
- AL-QAHTANI, Saud;
- ALSEHRI, Turki Muserref M.;
- ALSEHRI, Waleed Abdullah M.;
- ALZAHRANI, Mohammed Saad H.;
- MUTREB, Maher Abdulaziz M.; and
- TUBAIGY, Salah Muhammed A.
Further identifying information on the designated individuals is available here.
“The Saudi officials we are sanctioning were involved in the abhorrent killing of Jamal Khashoggi,” Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said in a press conference. “These individuals who targeted and brutally killed a journalist who resided and worked in the United States must face consequences for their actions. The United States continues to diligently work to ascertain all of the facts and will hold accountable each of those we find responsible in order to achieve justice for Khashoggi’s fiancée,children, and the family he leaves behind.”
The sanctions place significant burden on the designated individuals – all seventeen will be included on the SDN list. Any property or interests in property of theirs that passes through U.S. jurisdiction will be blocked. In addition, U.S. entities are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the designated individuals, or with entities in which they possess more than a 50 percent ownership share.
Human Rights First (HRW), a global coalition of human rights and anti-corruption NGOs, expressed support for the sanctions, but underlined that the Treasury sanctions represent only a minimal first step justice and accountability for the murder of Khashoggi. “The Trump Administration made the right decision to impose sanctions on the 17 named individuals, particularly with respect to Saud Al-Qahtani, a key advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” HRW SeniorVice President for Policy, Rob Berschinski, said. “That said, in failing to sanction the crown prince or members of his inner circle, or taking other actions with respect to Saudi repression at home or its activities in Yemen,the administration isn’t taking a particularly strong stand in terms of accountability.”
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