French officials on Wednesday freed a Saudi man a day after he was arrested in Paris on suspicion of being a part of the rogue team that murdered dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018. Authorities said that the man, Khaled Aedh Al-Otaibi, was innocent and that his arrest was a case of mistaken identity.
Prosecutors said that after verifying the man’s identity, it was confirmed he was the wrong person. Al-Otaibi was held at a detention facility in the Charles de Gaulle airport, where he was about to board a flight to Riyadh, because his name was similar to the man wanted for Khashoggi’s murder.
France held the man on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued by Turkey in 2019 against a ‘Khaled Aedh Al-Otaibi.’ The French Prosecutor-General’s office stated: “Extensive checks on the identity of this person showed that the warrant did not apply to him […] he was released.”
Immediately following Al-Otaibi’s arrest, the Saudi embassy in Paris said that he “has nothing to do with the case in question” and therefore, Saudi Arabia “expects his immediate release.”
Furthermore, a Saudi official told Reuters that media reports suggesting that the detained Saudi citizen was involved in the murder of Khashoggi “are false.” On Wednesday, a Saudi security source told Al Jazeera that the name ‘Khaled Al-Otaibi’ is very common in the Kingdom.
Reuters reported that Al-Otaibi was visiting Paris with a friend and held a valid visa for France. The news agency also said that his passport number did not match with that of the wanted person.
France released a Saudi national arrested at a Paris airport over suspected links to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after officials concluded it was a case of mistaken identity https://t.co/9XHxJ8L060 pic.twitter.com/YrzTvs2kEW
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 9, 2021
Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist and a critic of the Saudi monarchy, was killed in 2018 after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain paperwork to marry his Turkish fiancée. The Saudi government, which initially denied any role in his murder, later claimed that he was killed by a team of rogue agents from the Kingdom.
In 2019, Riyadh announced that it had sentenced five men to death and three others to long prison terms over Khashoggi’s killing. However, the United Nations (UN) dismissed the ruling and accused Saudi Arabia of convicting low-level security agents to protect its leaders. The UN also called the trial a “mockery” of justice, as access was limited and Saudi Arabia never released the names of those who were convicted. In 2020, the death sentences were reduced to prison terms after Khashoggi’s family said they had forgiven the killers.
In February, a US intelligence report released by the Biden administration accused Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) of approving Khashoggi’s assassination. The document said that MBS had “absolute control” of the Saudi security apparatus, which made it unlikely that Saudi officials carried out the killing without his authorisation. Riyadh, however, has fiercely denied claims that the Crown Prince was involved.
Soon after, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken announced the “Khashoggi Ban,” a new directive aimed at imposing visa restriction policies on individuals engaging in “counter-dissident activities” on behalf of a foreign government. As part of this policy, the US government-imposed travel restrictions on 76 Saudi officials believed to have played a role in Khashoggi’s murder.
The incident at the airport came just days after French President Emmanuel Macron met with MBS in Jeddah, where they focused on establishing a joint mechanism to end the economic and political crisis in Lebanon. The meeting also saw the leaders sign several agreements in economic, political, energy, and cultural fields.
While human rights groups like Amnesty International criticised Macron for meeting with a “killer prince”, the French President noted that it was important to engage with Riyadh, as it is an important player in the Middle East. Macron added that his meeting with MBS does not mean he has “forgotten” Khashoggi’s murder.