A federal judge in the nation’s capital has agreed to file a civil suit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi after the Biden administration said he should be granted presidential immunity.
In an opinion issued Tuesday, Judge John Bates said the lawsuit, filed by Khashoggi’s wife, Hatice Cengiz, and the pro-democracy group DAWN, despite requests from plaintiffs’ lawyers to challenge Judge Biden’s decision, “is denied at this time.” should be done,” he wrote. .
“As the branch of government primarily responsible for international affairs and diplomacy, the Executive may be hindered or embarrassed if the courts second-guess their decisions on foreign immunity,” Bates wrote.
“Despite the court’s disquiet, the circumstances of bin Salman’s appointment and credible allegations of his involvement in Khashoggi’s murder, the United States has informed the court that he is immune and that bin Salman is ‘qualified to be head of state.’ immunity. . . he will remain in office,” Bates said.
“Accordingly, the claims against bin Salman are dismissed on the basis of the immunity of the head of state,” he added.
Khashoggi was killed by Saudi authorities in 2018 after being drawn into the country’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. His body is believed to have been dismembered, but the remains of the murder have never been found.
US intelligence agencies have found that bin Salman approved the killing of a well-known journalist and author who wrote critically about the authoritarian rule of the Saudi Arabian leader in the Arab country.
Biden’s move to grant immunity to bin Salman has been heavily criticized hold bin salman accountable for murder.
“It is beyond ironic that President Biden single-handedly convinced MBS to get away with impeachment when he promised the American people that he would do everything in his power to hold him accountable,” DAWN President Sarah Lee Whitson said in a statement after the impeachment. issued in November.
Biden has sought to defuse tensions with the Saudis after speaking strongly about being assassinated as a candidate ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
“I think it was outright murder,” Biden said in 2019. “I think that’s how we should have done it. I said at the time that this is how we should approach it and that there should be consequences for how we approach this force.
As president, Biden tried to befriend bin Salman in a bid to lower gasoline prices, punching the authoritarian during a visit to Jeddah in July.
With post wires
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