The country is determined to free Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from his fiancé case in the US court for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
On October 2, 2018, Khashoggi was assassinated inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. The lawsuit alleges that the Saudi leadership and its officials abducted, drugged, and tortured Jamal Khashoggi, a pro-democracy advocate living in the United States.
US intelligence says that they believe that the killing was ordered by the Saudi prince. But the US State Department told the court that since Mohammed bin Salman is now the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, he can escape the case.
After this incident, Khashoggi's fiancé Hetje Genghis wrote on Twitter, "Through this impunity, Khashoggi died again."
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Calamari also criticized the impunity.
As the current head of a foreign government, the Saudi crown prince would be immune from prosecution in US courts, US Justice Department lawyers say. The practice of head of state immunity is well established in customary international law.
The White House National Security Council spokesman said in a written statement, "The State Department made this legal decision in accordance with long-standing principles of customary international law." It has nothing to do with the allegations in the case.
Ever since the murder, suspicions have been directed at Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Because Khashoggi was a harsh critic of the ruling group of Saudi Arabia, including Prince Salman. He has written several articles about this in the Washington Post. Various investigations have revealed that Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder.
In 2017, Prince Mohammed was declared Prince by his father, King Salman. In September this year, he took over as the country's prime minister. However, he has always claimed that he had no role in Khashoggi's murder.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has authorized an operation to arrest or kill Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This information has emerged in the US intelligence report.
The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence published the report on its website. It said, "Our assessment is that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman authorized the operation in Istanbul, Turkey to arrest or kill Jamal Khashoggi." We have arrived at this assessment considering the decision-making power of Crown Prince bin Salman in Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi was murdered on October 2, 2018, after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. His body was lost. He used to write columns in the Washington Post from the United States. A Saudi court sentenced five Saudi nationals to death for Khashoggi's murder. Later, their sentence was reduced to 20 years imprisonment.
Journalist Khashoggi was a staunch critic of the Saudi crown prince. Saudi Arabia initially denied that Khashoggi was murdered. Later, the country's government admitted that some unruly officials had committed the murder. The Saudi crown prince has since denied his involvement in the murder.
Meanwhile, the day before the publication of this report, US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Sad of Saudi Arabia on Thursday. Biden raised questions about human rights to the King of Saudi Arabia in a phone conversation. It was already known that the sensitive US intelligence report on Jamal Khashoggi's murder is going to be published. The report also hinted at Bin Salman's involvement in Khashoggi's murder
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