Khashoggi murder: US judge dismisses case against Saudi prince

A US judge on Tuesday dismissed a US case against Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, accused of ordering the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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Without deciding the merits of the case, Magistrate John Bates said he was bound by the position recently taken by the US government, according to which “MBS” enjoys legal immunity as head of government.

Judge Bates, however, expressed his discomfort with the “circumstances of Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s appointment (to power) and the credible allegations of his involvement in Khashoggi’s death.”

Jamal Khashoggi, a former aide to Saudi power turned critic, was killed and dismembered in 2018 at the kingdom’s embassy in Istanbul, Turkey. The killing sparked international protests and made Prince Mohammed bin Salman a figurehead in the West.

Saudi officials have always denied his responsibility, but Mohammed bin Salman is thought to have ordered the assassination by US intelligence.

The journalist’s Turkish fiancee, Hadis Cengiz, and the Association for Democracy in the Arab World Now (DAWN), which he founded in the United States, filed a civil complaint in 2020 in US courts against the crown prince and other Saudi officials.

“While we are disappointed by this decision, we will consider all possible options to pursue our legal actions targeting MBS’s criminal conduct,” DAWN Director Sarah Leah Whitson said Tuesday.

At the end of September, “MBS”, who had practically ruled the kingdom for years, was appointed prime minister by royal decree. Many commentators saw it as an attempt to protect him from prosecution abroad.

In light of the nomination, Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration had anticipated his removal from the judiciary in mid-November.

This report was heavily criticized. Mr. The Washington Post newspaper, with which Khashoggi collaborated, accused the president of “returning to the fundamental principles of press freedom and equality.”

The White House has responded that the legal opinion has nothing to do with the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

President Biden visited Saudi Arabia in July. On this occasion, he was very opinionated with the Crown Prince and assured him that he had discussed the Khashoggi affair with him.