CAIRO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Arab League (AL) Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit expressed on Saturday support for Saudi Arabia's rejection of a recent U.S. intelligence report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
"Saudi judicial authorities are the only ones in charge of holding those involved in Khashoggi case accountable," the AL chief said in a statement.
The 4-page report, released by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), indicates that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud approved the operation in Istanbul, Turkey, "to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi."
Aboul-Gheit said that the ODNI is not authorized to issue international rulings or verdicts.
"Human rights issues should not be politicized," the AL secretary-general emphasized.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry strongly rejected the U.S. report, saying it contained "inaccurate information and conclusions."
Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, and a number of top Saudi officials were arrested in connection with the case.
In early September 2020, Saudi Arabia's Public Prosecution issued final verdicts against eight convicts in Khashoggi's killing, five of whom were sentenced to 20 years in jail and the other three from seven to 10 years.
