Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in October 2018 by Saudi agents at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, an operation that US intelligence believed was ordered by Prince Mohammed, who has been the kingdom’s de facto ruler for several years. “Jamal died again today,” Khashoggi’s ex-fiancée Khadija Cengiz tweeted minutes after the news broke. He later added: “We thought maybe there would be some light on justice from the #US, but again, money came first.” The Saudi government’s communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. A spokesman for the Saudi consulate in Washington could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon after business hours. “This is a legal determination made by the State Department based on long-standing and well-established principles of customary international law,” a White House National Security Council spokesman said in a written statement. “It has nothing to do with the merits of the case.” The spokesman referred further questions to the Department of State and Justice. In a document filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Justice Department lawyers wrote that “the doctrine of head of state immunity is well established in customary international law.” Justice Department lawyers said the executive branch of the US government, referring to the Biden administration, had “determined that the defendant Bin Salman, as a sitting head of a foreign government, enjoys head of state immunity from the jurisdiction of US courts as a result of that office”. In late September, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman appointed Prince Mohammed as prime minister in a royal decree that a Saudi official said was in line with the responsibilities already held by the crown prince. “The Royal Order leaves no doubt that the crown prince is entitled to status-based immunity,” the prince’s lawyers said in an Oct. 3 filing asking a federal district court in Washington to dismiss the case, citing other cases in which the U.S. they have recognized immunity for a foreign head of state.
FIST-AHTOU
Biden was criticized for punching the crown prince during a visit to Saudi Arabia in July to discuss energy and security issues. The White House said Biden had told Prince Mohammed that he held him responsible for Khashoggi’s murder. The prince, known by his initials MbS, denied ordering Khashoggi’s killing but later acknowledged it was done “under my watch”. The long-standing alliance between the two countries was strained in October when a decision by the Saudi-led OPEC+ oil producer group to cut oil production sparked a war of words between the White House and Riyadh. The decision had raised concerns in Washington about the possibility of higher gasoline prices ahead of November’s midterm elections. This latest move shows the administration’s weakness vis-à-vis the kingdom, some analysts said. “The decision to grant sovereign immunity to MbS will send him a very clear message: that he must continue to pursue Saudi Arabia’s nationalist interests without compromise, even when they directly conflict with the core interests of the United States,” Cinzia Bianco, visiting fellow at the European Council on External Relations said. Khashoggi had criticized the crown prince’s policies in his Washington Post columns. She had traveled to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to get the documents she needed to marry Genghis, a Turkish national. “It is beyond ironic that President Biden single-handedly assured that MBS can avoid accountability when President Biden promised the American people that he would do everything in his power to hold him accountable. Not even the Trump administration he did not do that,” Sarah Lee Whitson, spokeswoman for Democracy for the Arab World Now, said in a written statement. In a highly charged global atmosphere, the United States is keen to prevent its longtime ally from further distancing itself. “Amid great power competition with Russia and China, the United States recognizes that Saudi Arabia has other options. And a further turn by Saudi Arabia to the East must be prevented at all costs,” said Andreas Krieg, a professor at King’s College London. Report by Dan Whitcomb. Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Brad Brooks and Mike Scarcella. additional reporting by Maha El Dahan in Dubai. Editing: Simon Cameron-Moore, William Maclean Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
