On Friday, the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) declassified a report saying that the Saudi crown prince had approved the operation to kill or capture Khashoggi. Later that day, the US Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against former senior Saudi intelligence official Ahmed al-Asiri and Rapid Intervention Force.
"[Aboul Gheit] has expressed his support for the Saudi Foreign Ministry's statement refuting the conclusions of the US intelligence report, stressing that the latter is not a judicial or international body and that the human rights issues should not be politicized," the Arab League Secretariat said on its website.
Khashoggi went missing in 2018 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Saudi government initially denied any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts but eventually admitted that he had been killed inside the diplomatic mission. The Saudi government sentenced several people over their role in Khashoggi's murder and has repeatedly denied allegations that members of the royal family were involved in the incident.
The position of Saudi Arabia has already been supported by a number of Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait.
