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Saudi accused of threat to Khashoggi UN investigator is human rights chief
Earlier DU thread: Top Saudi official issued death threat against UN's Khashoggi investigator
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Source: The Guardian
Saudi accused of threat to Khashoggi UN investigator is human rights chief
Awwad al-Awwad, former aide of crown prince, denies threatening to ‘take care of’ Agnès Callamard
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
@skirchy
Thu 25 Mar 2021 14.07 GMT
The Saudi official who is alleged to have twice issued threats against the independent UN investigator Agnès Callamard is the head of the kingdom’s human rights commission, and formerly served as an aide to the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Awwad al-Awwad is alleged by a person familiar with the matter to have twice threatened to “take care of” Callamard at a January 2020 meeting with senior human rights officials in Geneva.
The Guardian first reported news of the threats earlier this week following an interview with Callamard in which she recalled being alerted to the threats by her UN colleagues. On Wednesday, the office of the UN high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR) confirmed Callamard’s account.
“We confirm that the details in the Guardian story about the threat aimed at Agnès Callamard are accurate. After the threat was made, OHCHR informed Ms Callamard herself about it, as well as UN security and the president of the Human Rights Council, who in turn informed the relevant authorities,” said Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights.
The Guardian on Wednesday told a spokesperson for the Saudi embassy in Washington that it was intending to publish a story identifying Awwad as the individual who had made the alleged threats, and asked the Saudi government for a comment. Awwad, as well as being a former aide to the crown prince, served as the kingdom’s ambassador to Germany.
-snip-
Awwad al-Awwad, former aide of crown prince, denies threatening to ‘take care of’ Agnès Callamard
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
@skirchy
Thu 25 Mar 2021 14.07 GMT
The Saudi official who is alleged to have twice issued threats against the independent UN investigator Agnès Callamard is the head of the kingdom’s human rights commission, and formerly served as an aide to the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Awwad al-Awwad is alleged by a person familiar with the matter to have twice threatened to “take care of” Callamard at a January 2020 meeting with senior human rights officials in Geneva.
The Guardian first reported news of the threats earlier this week following an interview with Callamard in which she recalled being alerted to the threats by her UN colleagues. On Wednesday, the office of the UN high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR) confirmed Callamard’s account.
“We confirm that the details in the Guardian story about the threat aimed at Agnès Callamard are accurate. After the threat was made, OHCHR informed Ms Callamard herself about it, as well as UN security and the president of the Human Rights Council, who in turn informed the relevant authorities,” said Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights.
The Guardian on Wednesday told a spokesperson for the Saudi embassy in Washington that it was intending to publish a story identifying Awwad as the individual who had made the alleged threats, and asked the Saudi government for a comment. Awwad, as well as being a former aide to the crown prince, served as the kingdom’s ambassador to Germany.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/25/saudi-accused-of-threat-to-khashoggi-un-investigator-is-human-rights-chief