The Biden administration has come under fire for its position that Saudi Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, cannot be sued for his alleged role in the brutal 2018 assassination of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi while he was head of government is.
The US State Department's legal position that Saudi Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, cannot be sued while he is prime minister underscores the Biden administration's failure to account for MBS 's role in the brutal killing demand,” Human Rights Watch said.
Biden's campaign promise to make the Saudi authorities "pay the price" for the heinous murder of Khashoggi has not been kept.
In the absence of real sanctions against the Saudi government for its transnational actions, MBS will interpret US policy as a "green light" to continue committing human rights abuses at home and abroad while enjoying generous US military, diplomatic and political support, of the international non-governmental organization, a government organization said in a statement on November 21, 2022.
The appointment of MBS as prime minister by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on September 27, 2022 came days ahead of the deadline for the State Department to seek a response from a U.S. district court to submit question of possible MBS immunity.
The deadline was later extended, the statement said. The Biden administration last week filed a legal brief calling for sovereign immunity to be granted to Mohammed bin Salman in a civil trial related to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “In all cases, we just follow the law. And that's exactly what we did," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken later said, implying that the controversial decision was far from easy," the Guardian reports.
Since last summer, the government's decision to delay action and seek months of legal delays before presenting its views on the matter to a US judge presented Saudi Arabia with an unprecedented opportunity to use legal maneuvering to maneuver Prince Mohammed protect, which placed him above the limits of law. and beyond the reach of the US legal system. When that happened, the Biden administration said its hands were tied, The Guardian added.
In a stern rebuke, MSNBC columnist James Downie wrote: Staff would insist they had no choice. International law is international law, and regardless of politics or the price of gas, Saudi Arabia is too valuable an ally. So let me ask another question: How many US citizens or residents can Salman order the deaths of?
Would his immunity extend to those who worked with Khashoggi, my friends and former colleagues? Because, with all due respect, Mr. President, it seems that you would not lift a finger to protect them. Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of murdered American journalist Jamal Khashoggi (Photo | AP) Caption
These final questions are particularly important because Saudi Arabia still holds several US citizens and permanent residents hostage, either in prison or under a travel ban preventing them from leaving the country. Last year, the Post's Josh Rogin reported, the Saudi government arrested Saad Ibrahim Almadi, a 72-year-old US citizen, at an airport in Riyadh. The Almadi crime? Fourteen tweets published over a seven-year period criticizing the Saudi government.
For this crime, Almadi was sentenced last month to 16 years in prison and a 16-year travel ban, MSNBC noted. CNBC recalled what Biden said in a 2019 CNN City Hall interview as a candidate: "I think it was outright homicide. And I think we should have nailed it like this. I said publicly at the time that we should treat it this way and that there should be consequences for how we use this power.
Now the government's move is "a radical departure from the passionate denunciations of Joe Biden's campaign against Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the brutal murder," CNBC said. has halted oil production, according to a CNBC report, a move seen as undermining efforts by the US and its allies to punish Russia for its war against Ukraine.
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