21 Saudis Banned From Entering United States Over Jamal Khashoggi

The United States of America has banned 21 Saudi Arabia citizens from gaining entering the country due to their involvement in Jamal Khashoggi.

The journalist who was reportedly murdered in Saudi embassy in Turkey, was a critic of the Kingdom’s policies, having left his home country in 2017 and has since then went to analyze the country’s foreign policies in Washington Post.

Khashoggi was said to have entered Saudi Arabia embassy in Turkey in order to complete some paperwork to marry a Turkish citizen, but did not come out, sparking reports that the journalist was murdered by his countrymen in the embassy.

After pressures from several quarters of power, Saudi Arabia’s authorities released a statement stating that the journalist died in the consulate as result of conflict with some officials, but has since then refused to diverge any form of information on the circumstances that led to his death.

A representative from the United States department said: “The Secretary announced that 21 Saudi suspects in the death of Jamal Khashoggi will have their visas revoked or be ineligible for a visa to enter the United States,“

US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert explained that “the Department has broad authority, under Section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, to revoke visas based on information that comes to light at any time indicating that a visa holder may be inadmissible to the United States or otherwise ineligible for a visa. Visa confidentiality, protected by U.S. law, prohibits us from discussing individual visa cases.”