White House imposes visa restrictions on 76 Saudis

The United States will immediately restrict 76 Saudis in honour of the slain Jamal Khashoggi, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday.

Blinken said Washington has also baned the entry of foreigners who threaten dissidents. 

Moments after President Joe Biden declassified a report that pinned blame on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over Khashoggi’s 2018 killing in Istanbul, Blinken vowed the administration will “push back against governments that reach beyond their borders to threaten and attack journalists and perceived dissidents for exercising their fundamental freedoms.”

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“We have made absolutely clear that extraterritorial threats and assaults by Saudi Arabia against activists, dissidents and journalists must end. They will not be tolerated by the United States,” Blinken said in a statement.

Under the new “Khashoggi ban,” the United States will restrict any individuals who have engaged in “serious, extraterritorial counter-dissident activities” that includes harassment of journalists or their families, Blinken said.

In a first implementation, Blinken said the United States will ban the entry of 76 Saudis who have been engaged in threatening dissidents overseas including in the Khashoggi case.

Meanwhile, the US Treasury put sanctions on the Saudi Rapid Intervention Force known as the “Tiger Squad”, which was mentioned in the declassified report, and on a Saudi former intelligence official for their role in the murder.

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“Those involved in the abhorrent killing of Jamal Khashoggi must be held accountable. With this action, Treasury is sanctioning Saudi Arabia’s Rapid Intervention Force and a senior Saudi official who was directly involved in Jamal Khashoggi’s murder,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement Friday, CNN reported.

“The United States stands united with journalists and political dissidents in opposing threats of violence and intimidation. We will continue to defend the freedom of expression, which is the bedrock of a free society.”