(Bloomberg) — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman can’t be sued in the US over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi because as a head of government he’s immune, the Biden administration told a judge.
Most Read from Bloomberg
The administration was responding to a request from US 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 US 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.
The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday night.
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 US 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.
The case is Cengiz v. bin Salman, 20-cv-03009, US District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).
(Updates with NSC not immediately responding, in fifth paragraph.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
