Jamal Khashoggi case: Canada imposes sanctions on 17 Saudi nationals

OTTAWA: The Canadian government on Thursday  imposed sanctions on 17 Saudis, accused of slaying  journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was killed in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate on October 2.

As per details, Canada has announced targeted sanctions  against 17 Saudi nationals who were allegedly linked to the murder of journalist in Istanbul last month.

The sanctions, which freeze their assets and bar their travel to Canada, "target individuals who are, in the opinion of the government of Canada, responsible for or complicit in the extrajudicial killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on October 2," Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland was reported to have said.

The Canadian measures come two weeks after US sanctions were announced, and as the kingdom’s ruler attempts a return to the international spotlight by attending Friday’s Group of 20 meeting in Argentina.

However, Canada’s  action leaves existing arms sales to Saudi Arabia untouched.

This means that the massive light-armoured vehicles manufactured in London, Ont, continue to roll off the assembly line and onto ships bound for the Mideast kingdom in a deal valued at $15-billion, including fees paid to a Canadian Crown corporation for acting as prime contractor.