A US judge has asked the Biden administration to consider whether Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should granted sovereign immunity in a civil case filed against him in the United States by Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed by Saudi agents in 2018. This was revealed by The Guardian.
District Court Judge John Bates gave the US government until August 1 to declare its interest in the civil case or notify the court that it has no opinion on the matter.
Biden does not want sanctions on Prince Salman – it would be diplomatically unprecedented
Because the US does not punish leaders of allied countries
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The administration’s decision could have a major impact on the civil case and comes as Joe Biden faces criticism for abandoning his campaign promise to make Saudi Arabia in pariah.
The US president is due to meet Saudi Arabia’s crown prince later this month, when he will make his first trip to Riyadh since taking the White House.
After years of inaction against Prince Mohammed by Donald Trump, who was president when Khashoggi was killed, the Biden administration moved to release a declassified US intelligence report in 2021, shortly after Biden entered the White Housewhich concluded that Prince Mohammed likely ordered Khashoggi’s assassination.
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The UN criticized Biden for not imposing sanctions on Mohammed bin Salman
“This is extremely, from my point of view, problematic, if not dangerous”
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At the time of the report’s release, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the kingdom’s government “categorically rejects what is stated in the reportprovided to Congress”.
Other possible avenues for justice are blocked for political reasons. In March, a Turkish prosecutor ended the long-running trial in absentia against Khashoggi’s killers, a move seen as part of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attempts to improved his relations with Prince Mohammed.
The Saudi prince claimed responsibility for the assassination on behalf of the Saudi government, but denied that he was personally involved in planning the assassination.
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