Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing - BBC

The US has determined that Saudi Arabia's de facto person - Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - has immunity from a suit filed by murdered writer Jamal Khashoggi's fiancée.

Mr Khashoggi, a salient Saudi critic, was murdered astatine the Saudi consulate successful Istanbul successful October 2018.

US quality has said it believes Prince Mohammed ordered the killing.

But successful tribunal filings, the US State section said helium has immunity owed to his caller relation arsenic Saudi premier minister.

Mr Khashoggi's ex-fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, wrote connected Twitter that "Jamal died again today" with the ruling.

She - on with the quality rights radical Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn), founded by Mr Khashoggi - had been seeking unspecified damages successful the US from the crown prince for her fiancée's murder.

The ailment accused the Saudi person and his officials of having "kidnapped, bound, drugged and tortured, and assassinated US-resident writer and ideology advocator Jamal Khashoggi".

Prince Mohammed was named crown prince by his father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, successful 2017. The 37-year-old was past handed the relation of premier curate successful September this year.

He denies immoderate relation successful the sidesplitting of Mr Khashoggi. 

Justice Department lawyers said successful quotes cited by Reuters that arsenic "the sitting caput of a overseas government," the crown prince "enjoys caput of authorities immunity from the jurisdiction of US courts arsenic a effect of that office."

"The doctrine of caput of authorities immunity is good established successful customary planetary law," Justice Department lawyers said.

But the Biden medication was keen to emphasise that the ruling was not a determination of innocence.

"This is simply a ineligible determination made by the State Department nether longstanding and well-established principles of customary planetary law," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said successful a written statement.

"It has thing to bash with the merits of the case."

Saudi Arabia said the erstwhile Washington Post writer had been killed successful a "rogue operation" by a squad of agents sent to transportation him to instrumentality to the kingdom.

However, US officials said the CIA had concluded, "with a mean to precocious grade of certainty", that MBS - arsenic the prince is known - was complicit.

The execution caused a planetary uproar and damaged the representation of Prince Mohammed and his country.

It besides led to a large downturn successful US-Saudi relations, with Mr Biden vowing to marque Saudi Arabia a "pariah" portion helium was campaigning for the presidency successful 2019.

Mr Biden declined to speech to Mohammed bin Salman erstwhile helium archetypal became president.

But implicit the summer, President Biden said helium wanted to "reorient" relations, up of a sojourn to Saudi Arabia successful July.

His sojourn - successful which helium was pictured fist-bumping the crown prince - was criticised arsenic validating the Saudi authorities pursuing Mr Khashoggi's murder.

Sarah Leah Whitson, a spokeswoman for Dawn, wrote connected Twitter that it was "beyond ironic that President Biden has single-handedly assured MBS tin flight accountability erstwhile it was President Biden who promised the American radical helium would bash everything to clasp him accountable".