Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman can’t be sued in the U.S. over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi because as a head of government he’s immune, the Biden administration told a judge.
The administration was responding to a request from U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington for input about sovereign immunity in a lawsuit filed by Khashoggi’s fiance, Hatice Cengiz. If the judge adopts the U.S. finding, it would effectively end the lawsuit.
“The United States Government has expressed grave concerns regarding Jamal Khashoggi’s horrific killing and has raised these concerns publicly and with the most senior levels of the Saudi government,” the government said in the filing late Thursday. “Prime Minister bin Salman as a sitting head of government is immune while in office from the jurisdiction of the United States District Court in this suit.”
Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi regime, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. His body was dismembered.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday it was a State Department decision and that the filing was made at the court’s request.
“This legal determination has absolutely nothing to do with the merits of the case itself,” Kirby said. “It has absolutely nothing to do with the bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia, which as you know is tense right now.”
The White House has criticized Saudi Arabia after it orchestrated an OPEC+ decision last month to cut 2 million barrels a day of oil output. President Joe Biden has said the Saudis will face “consequences” for the move.
Cengiz, who said she married Khashoggi in an Islamic ceremony in 2018 and was waiting for civil confirmation of the marriage when he was killed, sued bin Salman and others, accusing the crown prince of directing the murder. She sought unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
The U.S. intelligence community assessed that bin Salman signed off on the operation to kill or capture Khashoggi. The crown prince has denied having any involvement in the killing, while accepting symbolic responsibility for it as the country’s de facto ruler.
