A US judge dismisses the lawsuit against Bin Salman for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashogi

MADRID, 7 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

A US federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohamed bin Salman, for his alleged involvement in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Jashogi.

Justice John Bates has ruled that the crown prince is entitled to head of state immunity, after the Biden administration ruled last month that he was legally immune having recently been appointed Saudi prime minister.

"Despite the court's discomfort with both the circumstances of bin Salman's appointment and the credible allegations of his involvement in the Khashogi assassination, the United States has informed the court that it is immune, and bin Salman is therefore,' legitimized to the right of immunity for being head of state... while he is in office'", explained the judge.

Bates has also pointed out the "suspicious moment" of the prince's appointment: "A contextualized look at the (Saudi) Royal Order suggests that (the appointment) was not motivated by Bin Salman's desire to be head of government, but rather to protect him from potential liability in this case."

The lawsuit seeks the payment of civil damages and to clarify through the US justice system the level of involvement of senior Saudi officials in the murder of Jashogi, including the publication of information from officials and intelligence agents.

Jashogi, a journalist critical of the Saudi royal house and who worked for 'The Washington Post', disappeared on October 2, 2018 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to manage some documents to be able to marry Cengiz. There, he was murdered and dismembered, without his remains having been found.

In addition, the magistrate has warned that diplomacy between countries could be disturbed if the judiciary begins to interfere in "foreign immunity decisions" of the executive branch, since the Biden Administration made the recommendation to grant immunity previously, alleging that it was of an uninterrupted practice, reports CNN.

The legal team of the sentimental partner of Jashogi presented a letter a week ago in which they asked the Biden Administration to withdraw a file that determines that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has immunity in the context of the judicial process against him in the United States. Joined.

Keith Harper, Hatice Cengiz's lawyer, assured that Mohamed bin Salmán seeks to "manipulate the jurisdiction" of the court and ensure "impunity for the horrible murder he ordered." "The court should refuse to protect Mohamed bin Salman for ordering the assassination of Jashogi," the letter read, adding that neither Saudi Arabia nor the United States had "seriously disputed" that the appointment had been made "with the deliberate intent" to evade justice.

"In the United States, the president cannot autocratically declare a family member to be the 'head of government' to evade accountability in a foreign court," he declared.