Newspaper Page Text
8A Tuesday, November 20, 2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
NATION/WORLD
Saudi king’s speech
doesn’t mention dead
Man who murdered family
sentenced to life in prison
journalist Khashoggi
BY ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI
AND AYA BATRAWY
Associated Press
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Ara
bia’s King Salman on Monday gave his first
major speech since the killing of journalist
Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, express
ing support for his son, the crown prince,
and making no mention of allegations that
the young royal ordered the killing.
The annual policy speech by the king
instead highlighted Saudi Arabia’s priori
ties for the coming year, focusing on issues
such as the war in Yemen, security for Pal
estinians, stability in the oil market, coun
tering rival Iran and job creation for Saudis.
The king voiced support for his favored
son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,
saying that the 32-year-old heir to the
throne is focused on developing the capa
bilities of Saudi youth. The prince oversees
all major levers of power in the kingdom,
ranging from security to the economy.
“The country is working tirelessly to cre
ate more jobs and training for Saudi youth,”
Salman said. “The crown prince, chairman
of the Council of Economic Affairs and
Development, has focused on developing
human capabilities and preparing the new
generation for future jobs.”
Saudi media reported Monday that the
crown prince will attend the Group of 20
summit in Buenos Aires later this month. It
would be the first trip abroad for the crown
prince after the Oct. 2 slaying of Khashoggi,
and would bring him face to face with world
leaders from the U.S., Turkey, Canada and
European countries that have strongly criti
cized the kingdom for the brutal killing.
King Salman delivered his remarks in
the ornate hall of the consultative Shura
Council before the country’s ministers,
senior officials, military officers and cler
ics. Prince Mohammed was in attendance
and seated next to the country’s top cleric.
In the wake of Khashoggi’s killing inside
the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the 82-year-
old monarch put Prince Mohammed in
charge of overseeing the reorganization
of intelligence services. The king’s speech
made no reference to that, but he did com
mend Saudi Arabia’s judiciary and public
prosecution for their work in seeking jus
tice in accordance with Islamic law.
He said the kingdom “takes pride in the
blessed efforts” of the judiciary and pub
lic prosecution, adding that Saudi Arabia
affirms its commitment to the application
of Islamic law.
On Thursday, Saudi prosecutors said they
are seeking the death penalty against five
men suspected of killing Khashoggi, who
had written critically of the crown prince
in columns for The Washington Post. The
prosecutor’s announcement sought to quiet
the global outcry over Khashoggi’s death
and distance the killers and their operation
SAUDI PRESS AGENCY I Associated Press
Saudi King Salman, right, with dignitaries
before he gives his annual policy speech
at the consultative Shura Council, Monday,
Nov. 19, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
from the crown prince.
U.S. intelligence officials, however, have
concluded that the crown prince ordered
the killing, according to a U.S. official famil
iar with the assessment. Others familiar
with the case caution that while it’s likely
that the crown prince was involved in the
death, there continue to be questions about
what role he played.
Saudi investigators say a high-ranking
adviser to the crown prince, Saud al-
Qahtani, and a senior intelligence offi
cial, Ahmed al-Assiri, concocted a plan to
force Khashoggi to return to Saudi Arabia,
deeming his presence abroad as a threat to
national security.
Saudi prosecutors say the 15-man team
sent to Istanbul exceeded their author
ity when the lead negotiator in the team
decided to kill Khashoggi for refusing
orders to return. The Saudis say the agents
killed Khashoggi with tranquilizers and
then dismembered his body, which has not
been found.
Those findings came after Saudi authori
ties spent weeks denying Khashoggi had
been killed in the embassy.
This past week, U.S. intelligence offi
cials briefed members of the Senate and
House intelligence committees on their
conclusions, and the Treasury Department
announced economic sanctions on 17 Saudi
officials suspected of being responsible for
or complicit in the killing. Among those
sanctioned was al-Qahtani, who was fired
from his post as the crown prince’s adviser
after details of the killing emerged.
President Donald Trump has said
his administration will get “a very full
report,” including who was responsible for
Khashoggi’s death, on Monday or Tuesday.
Trump has criticized the Saudi response
to the killing, but has been reluctant to say
definitively if he thinks the crown prince
ordered it.
UK leader has eye on rebellion
as EU braces for Brexit push
BY JILL LAWLESS
AND RAF CASERT
Associated Press
LONDON — The U.K.
and the European Union
plowed ahead Monday
with plans to have their
divorce deal signed, sealed
and delivered within days
as British Prime Minister
Theresa May waited to see
whether rebel lawmakers
opposed to the agreement
had the numbers to chal
lenge her leadership.
The draft agreement
reached last week triggered
an avalanche of criticism in
Britain and left May fight
ing to keep her job even as
British and EU negotiators
raced to firm up a final deal
before a weekend summit
where EU leaders hope to
rubber-stamp it.
The 585-page, legally
binding withdrawal agree
ment is as good as com
plete, but Britain and the
EU still need to flesh out a
far less detailed seven-page
declaration on their future
relations.
May said “an intense
week of negotiations”
lay ahead to finalize the
framework.
The deal has infuriated
pro-Brexit lawmakers in
May’s Conservative Party.
The Brexiteers want a
clean break with the bloc
and argue that the close
trade ties called for in the
agreement May’s govern
ment agreed would leave
Britain a vassal state, bound
to EU rules it has no say in
making.
Two Cabinet ministers,
including Brexit Secretary
Dominic Raab, resigned in
protest, and rebels are try
ing to gather the signatures
of 48 lawmakers needed
to trigger a no-confidence
vote.
One pro-Brexit Conser
vative lawmaker, Simon
Clarke, urged wavering col
leagues Monday to join the
rebellion, saying “it is quite
clear to me that the captain
is driving the ship at the
rocks.”
Even if May sees off such
a challenge, she still has to
get the deal approved by
Parliament. Her
Conservatives don’t
have a parliamen
tary majority, and
whether she can
persuade enough
lawmakers to back
the agreement is
uncertain.
It is also unclear
what would hap
pen if Parliament
rejected the deal when it
is put to a vote, likely next
month.
May’s government relies
for survival on the votes of
Northern Ireland’s Demo
cratic Unionist Party,
which struck a deal last
year to back the Conserva
tives on major legislation,
including finance bills. But
the DUP opposes the Brexit
deal’s plans for keeping the
border between the U.K.’s
Northern Ireland and EU
member Ireland open after
Britain leaves the bloc.
In a warning to May,
DUP lawmakers abstained
Monday during several
votes on the government’s
finance bill.
May argues that aban
doning the plan, with Brit
ain’s March 29 departure
date just over four months
away, could lead to Brexit
being delayed or aban
doned, or to a disorderly
and economically damag
ing “no deal” Brexit.
But opposition Labour
Party leader Jeremy Cor-
byn said his lawmakers
would vote against May’s
agreement and also try to
block a “no-deal” exit.
The agreement also must
be approved by the Euro
pean Parliament. Manfred
Weber, who leads the EU
legislature’s largest group,
said the initial assessment
of the center-right Euro
pean People’s Party was
“very encouraging, very
positive.”
But, he added, “it must be
clear to our British partners
that there will be
no renegotiation of
this text that is now
on the table.”
Luxembourg
Foreign Minister
Jean Asselborn
said the deal “is the
best one possible.”
“There is no
better one for this
crazy Brexit,”
Asselborn said as EU for
eign ministers met in Brus
sels before the Sunday
summit of member country
leaders at which the bloc
intends to sign off on the
deal.
Most contentious nego
tiating issues have been
resolved, but Spain insisted
at the Brussels meeting that
it needed more clarity on
how Gibraltar, the British
territory at the southern tip
of the Iberian peninsula,
would be dealt with.
EU chief negotiator
Michel Barnier said the
EU foreign ministers “have
agreed to the principle”
of a one-off extension of
the post-Brexit transition
period if the two sides need
more time to finalize a
trade deal.
Under the divorce agree
ment, Britain would be
bound by EU rules during
the transition. It is due to
end in December 2020 but
can be extended by mutual
agreement if more time is
needed.
Barnier wouldn’t give a
specific end-date for the
extension. It’s a delicate
issue for May, because
some in her party worry
the extension could be used
to trap Britain in the EU’s
rules indefinitely.
RJ SANGOSTII Associated Press
Christopher Watts sits in court for his sentencing hearing at
the Weld County Courthouse on Monday, Nov. 19, in Greeley,
Colo. Watts received three consecutive life sentences
without a chance at parole on Monday, nearly two weeks
after pleading guilty to avoid the death penalty.
BY KATHLEEN FOODY
Associated Press
GREELEY, Colo. — A
man who strangled his preg
nant wife and suffocated
their two young daughters
wanted to escape his mar
riage and growing family,
prosecutors said Monday as
a judge imposed a sentence
of life without parole after a
plea deal kept the killer from
facing the death penalty.
Christopher Watts, who
pleaded guilty two weeks
ago, did not speak during the
hearing. One of his attorneys
said Watts was “sincerely
sorry.”
As Watts listened with his
head down, Shanann Watts’
parents detailed their ongo
ing struggle to understand
how he could murder the
three people who consid
ered him a hero — Shanann,
34, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3.
Frank Rzucek said he was
disgusted by the way his
son-in-law took his wife and
two daughters “out like the
trash” and dubbed him an
“evil monster.”
“Prison is too good for
you,” Rzucek said. “This is
hard to say, but may God
have mercy on your soul. ”
Prosecutors have said
Shanann Watts’ relatives,
who live in North Carolina,
asked them not to seek the
death penalty when defense
attorneys made the proposal.
Watts, 33, was formally
sentenced to consecutive life
sentences for the murders.
He also received a 48-year
sentence for unlawful termi
nation of a pregnancy and
12 years each for tamper
ing with a corpse, totaling 84
years.
The girls’ bodies were
found submerged in sepa
rate oil tank on property
owned by the company Watts
worked for. His wife’s body
was found in a shallow grave
nearby.
As a prosecutor detailed
the injuries found on the bod
ies, Rzucek leaned forward,
gasping. Michael Rourke said
Shanann Watts was strangled,
but her lack of significant
injuries suggested that her
death came slowly.
The girls were smothered,
and Rourke said there were
signs Bella “fought for her
life.” Celeste had no visible
injuries, he said.
Christopher Watts’ par
ents, Cindy and Ronnie Watts,
were permitted to speak as
the girls’ grandparents.
“We love you,” Cindy
Watts said into a micro
phone before turning to look
directly at her son. “And we
forgive you, son.”
Watts wiped away a tear
with his shirt after his par
ents left the podium. He kept
his head down for much of
the hearing, speaking only
once to confirm that he did
not want to make a statement
before Judge Marcelo Kop-
cow imposed his sentence.
Friends of Shanann Watts
lined up inside the court
house Monday morning.
More people filed into an
overflow room to watch a
video stream.
The killings captured
national media attention
and became the focus of true
crime blogs and online video
channels, which showed
dozens of family photos and
videos that Shanann Watts
shared on social media show
ing the smiling family.
Prosecutors said the
images belied a hidden truth,
that Christopher Watts was
having an affair.
A friend asked police to
check on Shanann Watts on
Aug. 13 after not being able
to reach her and growing
concerned that the expectant
mother had missed a doctor’s
appointment.
Rourke said police later
found that Watts spoke to a
real estate agent about selling
the family’s home and called
the girls’ school to report that
they could not be present
when fall classes began.
Investigators quickly
became suspicious of him
after he was unable to square
his claims that his family had
disappeared from a tightly
secured home in a busy
subdivision.
Meanwhile, Watts spoke
to local television reporters
from the front porch of the
family’s home in Frederick,
a small town on the plains
north of Denver where drill
ing rigs and oil wells sur
round booming subdivisions.
He pleaded for his family’s
safe return, telling reporters
their house felt empty with
out Bella and Celeste watch
ing cartoons or running to
greet him at the door.
Within days he was in cus
tody, charged with killing his
family.
Rourke said Watts has
never discussed a motive
for the killings with police,
but investigators could find
no explanation other than
his ongoing affair with a
co-worker.
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