Saudis committed to accountability

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday that Saudi leaders assured him everyone responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi would be held accountable, as Riyadh tries to resolve its biggest political crisis in a generation.

Pompeo told reporters he had also raised a number of human rights issues with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including women's rights activists who have been detained for months and some allegedly tortured.

Khashoggi, a longtime royal insider who had become a critic of the crown prince, was killed in October in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, prompting a global outcry including Treasury sanctions on 17 individuals and a US Senate resolution blaming Prince Mohammed.

A CIA assessment has blamed the crown prince for ordering the killing, which Saudi officials deny. At least 21 Saudis have been detained in the case, with five facing the death penalty. Five officials were also fired, including a senior royal advisor.

"They both acknowledged that accountability needed to take place. They talked about the process that is occurring inside their country, both the investigative process and the judicial process that is taking place," Pompeo said.

"They reiterated their commitment to achieve the objective, the expectations we set for them."

The outcry over Khashoggi's murder has strained ties with Western allies and focused attention on Saudi Arabia's domestic crackdown on dissent and the nearly four-year-old war in Yemen.