U.S. denies entry to 16 Saudi nationals over Khashoggi murder

The U.S. State Department on Monday barred entry to 16 Saudi nationals over what it described as their role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The move is being seen as Washington stepping up pressure on the Gulf kingdom to come up with a credible account of the killing.

The 16 people, including Saud al Qahtani, a senior adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had already been sanctioned by the U.S. over Khashoggi's death. The State Department previously revoked the visas of nearly two dozen Saudi officials and froze the assets of 17 others.

A statement by the State Department listed the individuals and said that they had been designated under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2019.

The law requires Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to deny entry to individuals and immediate family members if he has information that they've 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 said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses a press conference in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 8, 2019. /VCG Photo

The announcement came as President Donald Trump's administration faces pressure from Congress over its response to Khashoggi's killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October, which sparked unprecedented international scrutiny of the kingdom's human rights record.

A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi was killed and dismembered October 2 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a team of 15 agents sent from Riyadh. His body has never been recovered.

After having denied the murder, Saudi Arabia said the operation was carried out by agents who were out of control. A trial of 11 suspects opened earlier this year in Saudi Arabia.

But much of the case remains shrouded in mystery, beginning with the role of Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince.

The U.S. Senate, after a closed-door briefing by the CIA, adopted a resolution in December naming the crown prince as "responsible" for the murder, while Trump has refused to publicly take a stand.

Monday's announcement came just days after an Associated Press report on Friday claimed that the Saudi authorities had detained 12 people, including two dual American citizens, in a round of arrests against people supportive of women's rights.

Pompeo has repeatedly insisted the U.S. will do what's necessary to punish those responsible for the death of Khashoggi, a former Saudi insider turned critic who had moved to the U.S. and was a columnist for the Washington Post.

In congressional testimony in March, Pompeo said Trump has “made very clear that we will continue to work to identify those who are responsible for Jamal Khashoggi's murder and hold them accountable.”

(With input from agencies)

(Cover: Protesters with the activist group Code Pink demonstrate outside the White House demanding sanctions against Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on October 19, 2018. /VCG Photo)

(CGTN)