Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday “thanked” French President Emmanuel Macron for his “warm welcome” the day before, as the visit drew outraged protests from human rights defenders.
Emmanuel Macron had welcomed Thursday evening with a long handshake the de facto leader of the kingdom, invited for a working dinner at the Elysée Palace.
A first since the Khashoggi affair
It was the first visit to France by Mohammed bin Salman, known as “MBS”, since the assassination by Saudi agents of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In a message addressed to Emmanuel Macron, the Crown Prince expresses to the French President his “deep gratitude” and his “thanks for the warm welcome and hospitality” which were reserved for him during this official visit.
He added that the exchanges with the French President “confirmed our common desire to strengthen the strategic partnership between our two friendly countries in all areas”, to “continue coordination and consultation on issues of common interest” and to ” strengthen security and stability in the region”.
The assassination of the Saudi journalist under silence
Critic of Saudi power, Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered on October 2, 2018 in the premises of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul when he came to collect the necessary papers for his marriage.
On Thursday, a complaint for complicity in torture and enforced disappearance in connection with his assassination was filed in Paris against the crown prince, announced the NGOs Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), founded by the Saudi journalist, and the Swiss NGO Trial International.
Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi, declared Thursday “scandalized and outraged that Emmanuel Macron receives with all the honors the executioner of my fiancé”.
