US judge dismisses murder case against Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman
A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the grounds that he was granted immunity by the Biden administration.
According to an Al Jazeera article , the Washington judge said he was reluctant to dismiss the lawsuit, brought by the girlfriend of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist killed in a Saudi consulate in Turkey, but could do no more because of the immunity granted to the Saudi crown prince by the White House.
Crown Prince Mohammed has denied any involvement in Khashoggi's killing.
"Despite the Court's discomfort, therefore, both with the circumstances of bin Salman's appointment and with credible allegations of involvement in Khashoggi's murder, the United States has informed the Court that he is immune," Justice John Bates wrote. in his sentence.
The Biden administration last month called for immunity for Mohammed, saying his title as crown prince and his position as prime minister of the kingdom should provide him with a shield from lawsuits like the one filed by Khashoggi's fiancée and the group to human rights founded by him.
At the time, however, the State Department stressed that the statement released on Mohammed's immunity is not binding and can be overturned by any US judge. The Department added that it was a "purely legal determination."
The move was something of an olive branch for Riyadh after President Biden threatened to turn Saudi Arabia into a pariah state over, among other things, Khashoggi's murder, which did not strike a friendly tone to bilateral relations during this administration.
However, since oil prices started to rise last year, the White House has been quick to mend ties, only to find that the Saudis have other priorities than US retail fuel prices. That prompted the White House to redouble its efforts to mend relations with Riyadh, including by proposing immunity for the Saudi crown prince. Now relations between the Kingdom and the White House are at least at a decent level, although they have not returned to the cordiality of the Donald Trump era.
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The article US judge closes the murder case against the Saudi prince Mohammed Bin Salman comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/giudice-usa-archivia-la-causa-per-omicidio-contro-il-principe-saudita-mohammed-bin-salman/ on Wed, 07 Dec 2022 12:59:09 +0000.