Mohammed bin Salman’s lawyers argue the prince has immunity from prosecution after becoming Prime Minister
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) should be considered immune from prosecution in the ongoing US lawsuit over the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, his lawyers argued in court on Monday, according to Reuters.
The prince’s defense insists that a Royal Order given by his father, King Salman, designating him prime minister last week, entitles him to “status-based immunity”.
The lawyers urged the federal district court in Washington to dismiss the case entirely, noting that the US has done so in the past for foreign heads of state.
Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian citizen, is believed to have been murdered and dismembered by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October, 2018. US intelligence services said the order to kill the dissident journalist was given directly by MBS himself.
The prince has denied ordering the murder, while government officials, such as the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir, have suggested that the killing was a “rogue operation” carried out by individuals operating “outside the scope of their authority.”
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