Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other senior Saudi officials should be investigated over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi since there is credible evidence they are liable for his death, a UN rights investigator says.
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Saudi Arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs Adel al-Jubeir rejected the investigator's report as "nothing new".
"The report of the rapporteur in the human rights council contains clear contradictions and baseless allegations which challenge its credibility," he added in a tweet.
UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions Agnes Callamard called on countries to invoke universal jurisdiction for what she called the international crime, and make arrests if individuals' responsibility is proven.
The report, based on a six-month investigation, also calls on the US to open an FBI investigation, if one is not already open, and pursue criminal prosecutions within the US.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Callamard urged states to widen sanctions to include the crown prince and his assets abroad, unless the man seen by many as the de facto Saudi ruler can prove he has no responsibility.
Khashoggi, a critic of the prince and a Washington Post columnist, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding.
His body was dismembered and removed from the building, the Saudi prosecutor has said, and his remains have not been found.
"What needs to be investigated is the extent to which the crown prince knew or should have known of what would have happened to Mr Khashoggi, whether he directly or indirectly incited the killing ... whether he could have prevented the execution when the mission started and failed to do so," Callamard told reporters on Wednesday.
"It is the conclusion of the Special Rapporteur that Mr Khashoggi has been the victim of a deliberate, premeditated execution, an extrajudicial killing for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible under international human rights law," her report said.
The Saudi public prosecutor indicted 11 unnamed suspects in November, including five who could face the death penalty on charges of ordering and committing the crime.
Callamard said the Saudi trial should be suspended, citing concerns over secret hearings and a potential miscarriage of justice.
Instead, a follow-up international criminal probe should be launched, she said.
The CIA and some Western countries believe the crown prince ordered the killing, which Saudi officials deny.
Khashoggi's Turkish fiancee, who had waited outside the consulate while he was killed inside, called on the US to do more to bring his killers to justice.
"Washington has chosen not to use its strong ties and leverage with Riyadh to get the Saudis to reveal the truth about Jamal's murder and to ensure those responsible are held accountable," Hatice Cengiz wrote in a New York Times op-ed.
Australian Associated Press
