Four years on, the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi remains unresolved, but could a U.S. civilian court change that? DW's thepalidh provides this backgrounder:
and the Khashoggi-founded Democracy for the Arab World Now human rights organization, filed a lawsuit in the US in 2020 against MBS and others, accusing them of involvement in the killing. The plaintiffs have also made personal claims, alleging that Cengiz suffered personal harm as well as financial losses as a result of her fiance's murder.Bin Salman's lawyers claim that his appointment as prime minister grants theimmunity.
Now, however, the US is extremely angry with the Gulf kingdom again because of the OPEC+ decision to produce two million barrels less oil per day from November. Saudi Arabia and Russia are thought to be the leading forces in the oil alliance. The Biden administration has interpreted the move as direct support for Russia in the Ukraine war because the resulting increase in oil prices will make Moscow more money.All the same, US President Joe Biden's approach is one of, Woertz said.
After Biden took office, the US government released a CIA intelligence report alleging that Saudi Arabia's crown prince had sanctioned Khashoggi's murder. A UN report also indicated that the Saudi leadership was responsible for the murder. Riyadh rejects the allegations, saying that the Saudi perpetrators acted on their own. Despite the two reports, the US president has yet to hold MBS accountable.
Hatice Cengiz and the Dawn organization also accuse the Saudi crown prince of pursuing political motives when he had Khashoggi murdered. The aim was to bring to a standstill the journalist's efforts to bring about democratic reforms in the Arab world.