(VOVWORLD) - The US State Department on Monday publicly barred 16 Saudi individuals from entering the US for their roles in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October.
These designations are made under the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2019, according to a press release issued by the State Department.
The act provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that officials of foreign governments have been involved in significant corruption or gross violations of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States, the statement said.
The US Senate, after a closed-door briefing by the CIA, adopted a resolution in December naming the crown prince as responsible for the murder. US President Donald Trump has refused to publicly take a stand.