Germany imposes entry barriers

As of now, 18 Saudi nationals are not allowed to enter Germany: they are allegedly linked to the case of the journalist Khashoggi, who was killed in Istanbul, Foreign Minister Maas said.

Germany is serving 18 Saudi citizens with entry bans for killing anti-government Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The people involved were allegedly linked to the crime, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Brussels.

According to information from the German Foreign Office, the persons concerned are the alleged 15-member murder squad and three other persons suspected of involvement in the organization. However, the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is not one of them. "There are still more questions for us than answers in clarifying this case," said Maas. This applies both to the act as such and to the question: "Who are the backers?"

With the entry bans the Federal Government reacts to the investigation results available so far on the case. According to him, Khashoggi, who lives in exile in the United States, was killed in Istanbul on October 2 at the consulate of his native Saudi Arabia. He had wanted to pick up documents there for his wedding with a Turkish woman. Under immense international pressure, Riyadh gave the death of the "Washington Post" columnist much later.