Saudi journalist Khashoggi victim of premeditated extrajudicial execution: UN expert

GENEVA -- A United Nations Special Rapporteur said in a report Wednesday that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a premeditated extrajudicial execution, for which the State of Saudi Arabia is responsible.

UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings, Agnes Callamard, published the report following a six-month investigation into the killing in October 2018 of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The report analyzes evidence using international human rights law and considers steps that could have prevented his murder.

"The circumstances of Mr. Khashoggi's death have led to numerous theories and allegations, but none alters the responsibility of the Saudi Arabia State," the report reads.

The report says Khashoggi's killing was the result of elaborate planning involving extensive coordination and significant human and financial resources.

The Special Rapporteur also determined that there was credible evidence, warranting further investigation of high-level Saudi officials' liability, including that of the Crown Prince.

"It (the killing) was overseen, planned, and endorsed by high-level officials. It was premeditated," says the report.

Saudi Arabian minister of state for foreign affairs on Wednesday rejected the report.