The four men hailing from Saudi who killed Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 received paramilitary training in the US, the New York Times reported.
The report further said that the training of the four killers was granted under a contract approved by the US state department. It was provided by Tier 1 Group, which is owned by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.
The training included several sophisticated techniques such as “safe marksmanship” and “countering an attack”. The company said that this training was devised to better protect Saudi leaders.
State department spokesperson Ned Price responded to the NYT report saying that the department cannot comment "on any of the licensed defence export licensing activity alleged in media reporting". Price also said US policy towards Saudi Arabia "will prioritise the rule of law and respect for human rights."
Meanwhile, it is to be noted American officials who approved the training knew that the Saudi government was involved in a crackdown on dissent in the country.
In 2020, Cerberus Capital Management’s senior executive Louis Bremer confirmed his company’s role in training the 4 four men charged with Khashoggi’s murder. Bremer was called at a congressional hearing where he wrote answers to the questions from members of Congress. This move came after Bremer was nominated for a senior Pentagon job in former President Donald Trump's administration, according to NYT.
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However, lawmakers never received the written answers because the Trump administration withdrew Bremer’s nomination and did not submit his sheet.
Jamal Khashoggi was a US resident and Washington Post journalist. He used to write pieces critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In October 2018, he was killed and dismembered in Istanbul by a team of 4 people who were later linked to the prince in the kingdom’s consulate. A US intelligence report in February said the crown prince had approved an operation to capture or kill the journalist.
