Jamal Khashoggi killing: Anger as US offers Saudi crown prince immunity over journalist’s murder
Joe Biden has been accused of “capitulation” after his administration said Saudi Arabia’s crown prince should not face legal action over the murder of a US-based journalist.
Despite the US president having previously vowed to make a “pariah” out of the country’s rulers following the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the State Department has declared Mohammed bin Salman’s high office should protect him from prosecution for his alleged role in the slaying.
The official call for the prince, widely known as MBS, to be granted immunity came as he faces a lawsuit filed by the fiancée of Mr Khashoggi and the rights group he founded, Democracy for the Arab World Now.
The request is non-binding and a final decision will rest with a judge.
But the move is bound to anger human rights activists and many US politicians, coming as Saudi Arabia cracks down on critics at home and abroad and has cut oil production, a move seen as undermining efforts by the US and its allies to punish Russia for its war against Ukraine.
The State Department said the decision to try to protect the Saudi crown prince from US courts in Mr Khashoggi’s killing was “purely a legal determination”, citing what it said was a long-standing precedent.
Despite its recommendation, the State Department said it “takes no view on the merits of the present suit and reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of the heinous murder of Jamal Khashoggi.”
Saudi officials killed the Washington Post columnist at the country’s consulate in Istanbul.
They are believed to have dismembered him, although his remains have never been found.
The US intelligence community concluded Saudi Arabia’s crown prince had approved the killing of the well-known and respected journalist, who had been critical of his brutal suppression of opponents.
Saudi Arabia has denied his involvement.
Jamal Khashoggi’s remains have never been found
The statement issued by the Biden administration highlighted visa restrictions and other penalties that it had imposed on lower-ranking Saudi officials over the death.
The State Department said: “From the earliest days of this administration, the United States government has expressed its grave concerns regarding Saudi agents’ responsibility for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.”
The statement did not mention the crown prince’s own alleged role.
As a candidate on the campaign trail back in 2019, Mr Biden said: “I think it was a flat-out murder. And I think we should have nailed it as that.
“I publicly said at the time we should treat it that way and there should be consequences relating to how we deal with those – that power.”
But as president he has sought to ease tensions with the kingdom, including bumping fists with Prince Mohammed during a trip in July as the US moves to persuade Saudi Arabia to reverse a series of cuts in oil production.
The head of DAWN, Sarah Leah Whitson, said: “It’s beyond ironic that President Biden has singlehandedly assured MBS can escape accountability when it was President Biden who promised the American people he would do everything to hold him accountable.”
Back in February 2021, Mr Biden had ruled out the US government imposing punishment on Prince Mohammed himself for the killing of Mr Khashoggi, a Washington resident.
Mr Biden, speaking after he authorised the release of a declassified version of the intelligence community’s findings on Prince Mohammed’s alleged role in the killing, argued at the time there was no precedent for the US to move against the leader of a strategic partner.
Ms Whitson said: “It’s impossible to read the Biden administration’s move today as anything more than a capitulation to Saudi pressure tactics, including slashing oil output to twist our arms to recognize MBS’s fake immunity ploy.”
The Biden administration also had the option of not stating an opinion either way.
Sovereign immunity holds that states and their officials are protected from some legal proceedings in other foreign states’ domestic courts.
Upholding the concept helps ensure American leaders in turn do not face being dragged before courts in other countries, the State Department said.
Human rights advocates had argued that the Biden administration would embolden Prince Mohammed and other authoritarian leaders around the world in more rights abuses if it supported the crown prince’s claim that his high office safeguarded him from prosecution.
Prince Mohammed serves as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler in the place of his father, King Salman.
In September, the Saudi king also temporarily transferred his title of prime minister – a title normally held by the Saudi monarch – to Prince Mohammed.
Critics branded it a bid to strengthen his son’s immunity claim.
US
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
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The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
US
Boy, 8, and girl, 10, killed in US Catholic school shooting named – as father brands attacker ‘a coward’
The families of two children killed in the US Catholic school shooting have said their “hearts are broken” and branded the attacker a “coward”.
Fletcher Merkel who was eight and 10-year-old Harper Moyski were killed during mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Eighteen other people were injured, including children aged between six and 15 and three adults in their 80s.
Police said Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman, opened fire with a rifle through the windows of the school’s church as children sat in pews.
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New details released of US school shooting
‘Our hearts are broken’
Harper’s parents, Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin, remembered her as “a bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her”.
“Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss. As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain,” their statement said.
They urged leaders and communities to “take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.”
“Change is possible, and it is necessary – so that Harper’s story does not become yet another in a long line of tragedies,” the statement added.
The family of Fletcher Merkel said there was a ‘hole in our hearts’. Pic: Family handout/AP
‘Fletcher loved his family’
In a statement reported by Sky’s US partner network NBC News, Fletcher’s father Jesse Merkel blamed the “coward” killer for why the boy’s family can’t “hold him, talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming”.
He said: “Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sports that he was allowed to play.
“While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled, I hope that in time, our family can find healing.”
Mr Merkel also praised “the swift and heroic actions of children and adults alike from inside the church”.
“Without these people and their selfless actions, this could have been a tragedy of many magnitudes more. For these people, I am thankful,” he added.
Families and loved ones reunite at the scene after the shooting. Pic: Reuters
Mayor calls for assault weapon ban
It comes after Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey called for a statewide and federal ban on assault weapons, a day after the deadly school shooting.
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Minneapolis mayor urges assault weapons ban
“Thoughts and prayers are not going to cut it. It’s on all of us to see this through,” the mayor said at a news conference. “We need a statewide and a federal ban on assault weapons.
“We need a statewide and a federal ban on high-capacity magazines. There is no reason that someone should be able to reel off 30 shots before they even have to reload.
“We’re not talking about your father’s hunting rifle gear. We’re talking about guns that are built to pierce armour and kill people.”
Meanwhile, Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara gave an update on the investigation, saying the suspect had fired 116 rifle rounds into the church.
“It is very clear that this shooter had the intention to terrorise those innocent children,” he added, before saying the killer “fantasised” about the plans of other mass shooting attackers and wanted to “obtain notoriety”.
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Thomas Klemond, interim CEO of Minneapolis’s main trauma hospital Hennepin Healthcare, said at an earlier news conference that the hospital was treating nine patients injured in the shooting.
One child at the hospital was in a critical condition, he added.
Children’s Minnesota Hospital also said that three children remain in its care as of Thursday morning.
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