The US State Department has barred entry to 16 Saudi nationals over what it described as their role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The announcement on Monday by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo comes as the Trump administration faces pressure from Congress over its response to the killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October, which sparked unprecedented international scrutiny of the kingdom's human rights record.
The section under which the individuals have been designated "provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that officials of foreign governments have been involved in significant corruption or gross violations of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States".
The State Department previously revoked visas of nearly two dozen Saudi officials and froze the assets of 17 others.
No comments:
Post a Comment