Biden administration requests immunity for Saudi crown prince in Khashoggi murder case

"Because Mohammed bin Salman is Saudi Arabia's 'sitting head of government' he is 'immune from the suit' under international law," said the administration. The lawsuit in the US was filed by Khashoggi's fiance Hatice Cengiz and a human rights organization he founded.

İstanbul

Biden administration requests immunity for Saudi crown prince in Khashoggi murder case

Photo: AA

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The US administration has stated, in response to the invitation by the court, that Saudi Crown Mohammed bin Salman is immune from the lawsuit in the US regarding the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi.

Biden administration intervened in the lawsuit filed by Khashoggi's fiance Hatice Cengiz, a citizen of Türkiye and a human rights organization he founded, responding to a July invitation by the court with a court submission late Thursday (November 17).

The administration said that because Salman is Saudi Arabia's "sitting head of government" he is "immune from this suit" under international law.

Khashoggi's fiance Cengiz tweeted following the statement from the Biden administration and said "Jamal died again today." and "#Biden saved the murderer by granting immunity."

The US-Saudi relations

The US held bin Salman directly responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi after the killing.

CIA reported that Mohammed bin Salman gave approval to the plan for killing Jamal Khashoggi in İstanbul, Türkiye since he was seen as an opponent whose activities were undermining the monarchy.

The US then played unfair despite heavy criticism and discussions. Good trade relations were established with Saudi Arabia. President Donald Trump has blocked the efforts of Congress trying to limit the relations with Riyadh many times with executive orders.

He secured a sale of weapons worth 8 billion dollars to Saudi Arabia and its most important ally in the region, the United Arab Emirates bypassing Congress.

Again a trading volume of over 400 million dollars was made from the US to Saudi Arabia in a short period of time following the murder.
However, this has not prevented tensions in the relations for other reasons. The relations between the two countries worsened in the last months when Biden was not able to persuade Riyadh not to reduce its oil production.

Nevertheless, it is known that the Biden administration is seeking signs to show that decades-long close security relations with Saudi Arabia can be saved.

What happened?

Journalist Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Beşiktaş, İstanbul on October 2, 2018. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia officially confirmed on October 20 that the journalist was killed inside the consulate.

The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office released a press statement on October 31, giving the following information:

"Jamal Khashoggi went to the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for paperwork related to his marriage on October 2, 2018. As soon as he entered the consulate building, in a premeditated murder, he was suffocated to death and his body was dismembered and destroyed."

About Jamal Khashoggi

Journalist and writer. Khashoggi was known for his opposing views about Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. He was a columnist at the Washington Post.

After he expressed his criticism about the reforms introduced by bin Salman and drew reactions, he left Saudi Arabia in 2017 and moved to the US.

He worked as Director-General and Editor-in-Chief at the Al Arab Media Group. He was also a media consultant at the Saudi Arabia Embassy in England.

The lawsuit in Türkiye

In the trial over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi at Saudi Arabia's Consulate General seen in İstanbul, Türkiye, the court ruled on April 7, 2022, for the file to be handed over to Saudi Arabia.

After no progress in the case for years, Turkey's Ministry of Justice on April 7 allowed the transfer of the case to Saudi Arabia as per a request by the kingdom.

In June, the case against 26 defendants was dropped.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman exchanged visits in April and June, respectively, in what they called a "new era" in bilateral relations.

(HA/PE)