The UN human rights office said on Wednesday it confirmed the accuracy of remarks by independent UN expert Agnes Callamard in The Guardian alleging a senior Saudi official had made a threat against her.
The Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday that a Saudi official threatened Callamard, UN expert on summary killings, would be “taken care of” if she was not reined in following her investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“We confirm that the details in the Guardian story about the threat aimed at Agnes Callamard are accurate,” UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said in an email reply to Reuters regarding the January 2020 meeting in Geneva.
Callamard told the Guardian the threat was conveyed in a January 2020 meeting between Saudi and UN officials in Geneva. She said she was told of the incident by a UN colleague, the newspaper reported.
Callamard led a UN investigation into the October 2018 killing of Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate. She issued a report in 2019 concluding there was “credible evidence” that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and senior Saudi officials were responsible for killing the Washington Post journalist and US resident.
Source: Reuters
