Switzerland Halts Arms Supply to Saudi Over Khashoggi Murder

Switzerland has halted delivery of spare weapons parts to Saudi Arabia over the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

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Fabian Maienfisch, the spokesperson for the economic affairs department, told AFP Wednesday that Bern would follow developments and might reverse the decision in future.

The Swiss government halted arms exports to the Gulf country in 2009 but was supplying spare parts along with munitions for air-defense systems and firearms for private use.

Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist from Saudi Arabia, went into a self-imposed exile to the U.S. last year after the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman started to crackdown on dissent.

On Oct. 2, the Washington Post columnist entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain papers for his impending marriage after which he was never seen again.

Turkey said Saudi officials killed Khashoggi who was a strong critic of the crown prince, but Saudi Arabia denied all allegations, saying that he left the consulate.

After denying their involvement for three weeks, Saudi Arabia finally admitted to killing Khashoggi but said he was killed during a brawl. Later it accepted the involvement of 18 high-ranking officials in Khashoggi case but said that the crown prince had no idea about the plan and it was a “rogue operation”.

But conflicting reports provided by Turkey showed Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the consulate and Turkey’s chief prosecutor said Wednesday that he was strangled as soon as he entered the consulate.

The case resulted in diplomatic scandals where many countries are halting arms sale to the oil-rich kingdom. But its biggest ally, the U.S., has maintained that business will not stop between the two countries.