McGovern Statement on Apparent Murder of Jamal Khashoggi

WORCESTER, October 12, 2018
Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA) Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Congress and Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee, released the following statement after announcing his plan to introduce legislation prohibiting U.S. military aid and sales to the Government of Saudi Arabia until the United States Secretary of State determines that journalist Jamal Khashoggi is alive and free:

“If reports of Mr. Khashoggi's disappearance at the hands of the Saudi regime are correct, they represent a brazen violation of international norms and an alarming and deeply unsettling escalation of efforts by the Saudi Government to silence its critics.

“I will soon introduce legislation into the United States House of Representatives which would prohibit all U.S. military aid and sales to the Government of Saudi Arabia until the Secretary of State determines that journalist Jamal Khashoggi is alive and free. If the Secretary of State determines that Mr. Khashoggi was killed by agents of the Saudi Government, all U.S. military aid and sales would be prohibited until such time as Congress passes a resolution approving such aid and sales.

“If the United States stands for anything, we need to stand out loud and foursquare for human rights. Our values are our strength, and we cannot be indifferent or complicit when those values are undermined or attacked. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this important legislation.”