DISAPPOINTING

U.S. Judge Tosses Khashoggi Murder Lawsuit Despite ‘Uneasiness’

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates said he was bound by the State Department’s November request for immunity for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, responding to a directive from the Biden administration that the MBS be granted immunity in the case. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates wrote in a 25-page opinion that despite the “credible allegations” that MBS had a hand in the killing and the court’s own “uneasiness” with the decision, it was bound by the State Department’s November filing for immunity. The request argued that since MBS was recently appointed Saudi Arabia’s prime minister, he was immune from the suit as a “sitting head of government.” Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi’s fiancée, told CNN at the time that President Joe Biden had “betrayed his word, betrayed Jamal. History will not forget this wrong decision.” The lawsuit against MBS and 28 others was filed in Oct. 2020 by Cengiz and DAWN, the non-profit human rights group that Khashoggi founded prior to his death.