JAKARTA - The United States government under President Joe Biden ruled on Thursday that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) had immunity from a lawsuit over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
It is known, Khashoggi has criticized the crown prince's policies in the Washington Post column. He was killed in October 2018 by Saudi Arabia agents at the Istanbul consulate, Turkey, an operation believed by US intelligence was ordered by Prince Mohammed, who has been the ruler of the royal de facto for several years.
"This is a legal decision made by the State Department under the principles of a long-standing and established international habit law," a White House National Security Council spokesman said in a written statement.
"It has nothing to do with this case," he continued, and referred further questions to the State Department and Justice.
A spokesman for the Saudi consulate in Washington could not be reached for comment on Thursday evening, after working hours.
"Jamal died again today," wrote Khashoggi's ex-fianc, Hatice Cengiz, on Twitter minutes after the news was published.
He added then: "We thought maybe there would be light for justice from #USA But once again, money came first. This is a world that Jamal and I don't know about."!"
In a document submitted to the US District Court for the District of Columbia, a Justice Department attorney wrote, "the state head immunity doctrine is established under international customary law."
Justice Department lawyers said the US Government's executive branch, referring to the Biden Administration, had "established that defendant bin Salman, as head of foreign government, received state head immunity from the US court's jurisdiction as a result of the office."
In late September, Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud appointed Prince Mohammed as prime minister, in a royal decree that a Saudi official said was in line with the responsibilities already run by the crown prince.
"Royal Order has no doubt that the Crown Prince has the right to immunity based on status," the prince's attorney said in a October 3 petition asking the federal district court in Washington to drop the case, citing another case in which the United States has recognized immunity to foreign heads of state.
It is known that President Biden was criticized for meeting the crown prince during a visit to Saudi Arabia in July to discuss energy and security issues.
The White House said President Biden had told Prince Mohammed he thought the prince was responsible for Khashoggi's murder.
Prince MbS, has denied ordering Khashoggi's murder, but later admitted that it happened "under my supervision."
"It is ironic that President Biden alone assured MBS of being able to escape accountability, when President Biden promised the American people that he would do everything he could to hold him accountable. Even the Trump administration did not do this," Sarah Lee Whitson, a spokesman for the Democracy for the Arab World Now in a written statement.
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