The US government has sent a recommendation to the court which instructs civil procedure against the prince initiated by the widow of the murdered journalist.
MO12345LEMONDE With AFP
Washington treats his relations with Riyadh. Pursued in civilians before an American court for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Ben Salman benefits from judicial immunity, said the government of the United States in a document filed Thursday, November 18. p>
“The United States respectfully informs the court that the defendant Mohammed Ben Salman, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the head of government in practice and, therefore, benefits from immunity against these prosecution”, Is it written in this argument signed by the administration of the American president, Joe Biden.
“Jamal died a second time”
American courts grant immunity to heads of state and other high -ranking foreign leaders. Now the prince, nicknamed MBS, was appointed Prime Minister at the end of September, which suggests that he is trying to protect himself from complaints filed before foreign courts, and in particular civil action launched in Washington by Hatice Cengiz, the Turkish fiancée of the journalist murdered in the Kingdom Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
In reaction to the communication of the American executive, the latter On Twitter : “Jamal died a second time today,” she wrote, adding: “No one expected such a decision. We thought that perhaps the justice of the States- UNIS would bring its light. But, once again, the money spoke first. “
The recommendation of the United States government is not binding for the court. The text adds that “the State Department does not decide on the merits of this procedure and reiterates its unequivocal conviction of the odious murder of Jamal Khashoggi”, a close friend of Saudi power which has become critical of it. p>
“Biden administration has exceeded the terminals”
This recommendation shocked supporters of the journalist’s widow’s widow, including Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), an NGO established in the United States founded by Mr. Khashoggi. “Administration Biden has exceeded the terminals by recommending immunity for MBS and avoiding it to account, said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Dawn. Now that Mr. Biden said that MBS had total immunity , we can expect the latter’s attacks on the people of our country still wrapping. “Agnès Callamard, secretary general of the NGO Amnesty International, described the recommendation of the American government as” deep betrayal “.
“Administration Biden, not only protects [MBS] from any prosecution before the American courts, but makes it more dangerous than ever with a permit to kill its opponents without consequences,” said Khalid Al -Jabri, the son of Saad al-Jabri, a Saudi ex-spy who accused the prince of having sent him a team of killers to Canada.
After a period of relative dismissal following the murder of the journalist, MBS returned to the international scene during this year, notably thanks to the American president. Joe Biden went to Saudi Arabia in July, an initiative with uncommon gains, when he had previously sworn to make the kingdom a “pariah”. Last year, Mr. Biden made public a report by the intelligence services revealing that the prince had approved the operation that led to the death of Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi authorities have denied.