In Washington, D.C., the Biden administration said Monday the jailing of U.S. citizen and civil rights attorney Asim Ghafoor by a court in the United Arab Emirates had nothing to do with his past work as a lawyer for Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist whose murder in 2018 was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Ghafoor was arrested during a stopover in Dubai and sentenced to three years in prison and an $800,000 fine on charges of money laundering and tax evasion. UAE officials say the United States had requested his arrest — an allegation denied Monday by State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

Ned Price: “What I can say is that we see no indication at this point that his detention has anything to do with his association with Jamal Khashoggi, but we are still gathering information. Again, as I said, we’ve raised this case at senior levels, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that Mr. Ghafoor is treated fairly and humanely.”