22 June 2021; MEMO: Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) is calling on members of Congress to interrogate Egypt's intelligence chief about reports that Cairo was involved in the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Last week, Yahoo News reported that the airplane carrying Saudi assassins who killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 stopped off in Cairo to pick up deadly narcotics.
These narcotics were injected into Khashoggi's left arm by a Saudi Interior Minister doctor, killing him within a matter of minutes, reported Yahoo, disclosing a previously unknown link between Egypt and the journalist's death.
There is also evidence that Egypt provided training for the hit squad as it has in the past. Cairo allegedly assisted in the 2015 Saudi abduction from Italy of Saudi Prince Saud Bin Saif Al-Nasr, who was an outspoken critic of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS).
"The reports that have emerged that Egyptian authorities provided the killer drugs that were used to execute Jamal Khashoggi are shocking," said Executive Director of DAWN, Sarah Leah Whitson.
"There needs to be a congressional investigation."
Egypt's head of intelligence Abbas Kamel is in Washington this week to meet with US intelligence officials.
According to Yahoo, senators are planning to ask Kamel about the stopover and whether Egypt's intelligence helped deliver or facilitate the delivery of the drugs.
Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are also trying to arrange a meeting with Kamel to question him about the assassination.
It is thought that Kamel was the chief liaison officer to the Saudis whilst running Egypt's General Intelligence Directorate and communicated directly with MBS' right-hand man, Saud Al-Qahtani, who has been sanctioned by the US over his role in the Khashoggi murder.
"It's impossible that a Saudi government plane would have landed in Egypt without the knowledge and permission of the Egyptian authorities," said Whitson.
"And it is impossible that anybody other than Egyptian government officials would have coordinated with Saudi government officials on the delivery of drugs that we now know were used in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi."
