A/HRC/41/CRP.1 labour and time intensive activity). It is likely that analysis of the recordings linked to activities inside the Saudi consulate was conducted only after Mr. Khashoggi had been declared “disappeared,” and it took several days of assessment before firm conclusions could be drawn regarding his murder. 374. As far as the United States are concerned, media organizations have reported that, prior to Mr. Khashoggi’s killing, U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted communications in which Saudi officials discussed a plan to capture Mr. Khashoggi.311 Other leaked information suggested that the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had told a top aide that he would ‘use a bullet’ on Khashoggi if he did not return to Saudi Arabia and end his criticism of the government. 312 However, the Special Rapporteur was not able to substantiate independently such reports, which relied, allegedly, on leaked intelligence. 313 It was also reported that the recordings of these conversations were only transcribed and analyzed after Mr. Khashoggi’s death, and probably as a result of his death.314 375. The allegation regarding the Crown Prince, nevertheless, raises two interrelated questions: First, should these intercepts that allegedly included such key words as ‘bullet’ and ‘abduction’ have been prioritized for analysis? Second, had the CIA analysed the intercepts when they received/captured them, or shortly thereafter, would its analysts have concluded that the threats against Mr. Khashoggi were real, credible and immediate, which would have obliged implementation of their duty to warn and beyond. If not, should they have reached such a conclusion? 376. The Special Rapporteur will venture to suggest that the first question should elicit a positive response: intercepts involving the Crown Prince and key trigger words that can only suggest violence, should have been picked up, prioritized and analysed. With regard to the second question, the limited information available regarding the wording of the intercepts does not allow a conclusive finding as to the credibility or immediacy of the threat. 377. However, and at the very least, such a threat should have triggered further investigation into its credibility and immediacy. Such assessment, in turn, would require evaluating whether the identity and activities of Mr. Khashoggi put him at risk, and whether there were systemic patterns of violence against individuals like him. Pattern of Violence315 378. Contextually speaking, in the year or two preceding his killing, the United Nations and human rights organisations had reported a deterioration of the human rights situation in 311 312 313 314 315 Loveday Morris et al., Saudis Are Said To Have Lain in Wait for Jamal Khashoggi, Wash. Post (Oct. 9, 2018), https://perma.cc/82WY-EUJT See ‘Year Before Killing, Saudi Prince Told Aide He Would Use ‘a Bullet’ on Jamal Khashoggi,’ New York Times, 7 February 2019, at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/us/politics/khashoggimohammed-bin-salman.html?emc=edit_na_20190207&nl=breaking-news&nlid=47276260ingnews&ref=headline. In response to Freedom of Information requests regarding the application of their duty to warn to Mr. Khashoggi, the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, and ODNI responded that they could “neither confirm nor deny” that they have any documents related to the duty to warn Mr. Khashoggi, meaning that any response could endanger national security. https://knightcolumbia.org/content/knight-institute-andcommittee-protect-journalists-v-cia-foia-suit-records-governments-duty Ibid. It has also been alleged that the United States has 11 encrypted messages between the crown prince and al-Qahtani, exchanged in the hours before and after Khashoggi’s death, but does not know their contents. ‘CIA Intercepts Underpin Assessment Saudi Crown Prince Targeted Khashoggi,’ Wall Street Journal, 1 December 2018, at https://www.wsj.com/articles/cia-intercepts-underpinassessment-saudi-crown-prince-targeted-khashoggi-1543640460. The Special Rapporteur could not substantiate this allegation. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges that other important developments occurred in Saudi Arabia although they fall outside her mandate. Many commentators have pointed to remarkable and visible social transformations in the country, the most publicized of which being the Crown Prince’s decision to permit women in Saudi Arabia to drive. Other themes that dominated these narratives included the relative stability of Saudi Arabia; the recent economic reforms undertaken; the clampdown on religious extremism; Saudi Arabia’s support for the fight against “terrorism”, etc. Themes such as these to a large extent also drove the Western agenda and its understanding and assessment of interests and threats. Interviews, Paris, London, Washington DC, Berlin, Ottawa. 73