Days after Saudi crown prince becomes PM, his plea says entitled to immunity in Khashoggi case

Lawyers representing Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman have argued that he has immunity against prosecution in the Jamal Khashoggi murder case since he is now the prime minister, Reuters reported. They have filed a petition in a court in Washington citing several other cases where the US recognised immunity for a foreign head of state.

Khashoggi was allegedly killed on October 2, 2018, inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. In 2017, after a fallout with the Saudi royal family, the journalist settled in the United States as part of a self-imposed exile. He faces a lawsuit in the US for the journalist’s murder.

The crown prince was named prime minister by his father King Salman on September 27. “The royal order leaves no doubt that the crown prince is entitled to status-based immunity,” stated the petition filed in a federal district court in Washington, according to Reuters.

Last year, a US intelligence report had claimed that the journalist was killed by a “Saudi hit squad operating under the command of Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman”.