Saudi Arabia has lifted the travel ban that was imposed on Jamal Khashoggi’s son Salah and his family.
The son of the murdered journalist arrived in the United States which praised the Saudi move, according to Al Jazeera TV newtwork.
A State Department spokesperson said the US welcomed the decision by Riyadh to allow the dual Saudi-American citizen to go.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed Salah’s status during his recent visit to the kingdom, spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters.
Palladino said Pompeo “made it clear to Saudi leaders that he wanted Salah Khashoggi to return to the United States, and we are pleased that he is now able to do so”.
The destination of Salah and his family was not known, but his late father lived in the Washington area.
The Saudi leadership drew sharp condemnation this week for staging a photo-op showing a clearly uncomfortable Salah shaking hands with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been accused of orchestrating Khashoggi’s murder, Al Jazeera commented.
After weeks of denial following the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia finally admitted last Saturday that he has been killed inside its consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul during a brawl.
The kingdom also announced the arrest of 18 people in connection with the killing and the firing of senior intelligence officers.
On Tuesday, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told members of the parliamentary group of his party Justice and Development (AK) that Khashoggi was killed in a “premediated” plot and that several Saudi hitmen were involved.
The squad was dispatched from Saudi Arabia to eliminate the 59-year old journalist who had been very critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MbS) and who had gone missing since October 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for some paperwork.
Following Erdogan’s official account of the unfolding of the investigation into the death of the journalist, President donald Trump seemed to take a tougher line on the Saudi kingdom, his key business and “counterterrorism” ally in the Middle East region.
Trump promised hell to the mastermind of Khashoggi’s killing and added the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced this Friday that Ankara has more documents and information, which it will reveal “when the time is right”.
He reiterated his calls on Saudi Arabia to reveal who gave the order for the dissident journalist to be killed.
The Turkish President also announced that the chief Saudi prosecutor will be arriving in Istanbul on Sunday to meet with his Turkish counterpart as part of the investigation into Khashoggi’s murder.
Erdogan added that Khashoggi’s killer is likely to be among the 18 men arrested by Riyadh.
