A French judge will look into complaints against Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi’s killing
PARIS (AP) — A French investigative judge will review an incriminating complaint from two rights groups Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of participation The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Saturday.
The prosecutor’s office, known as PNAT, said the case will now be handled by an investigating judge from the crimes against humanity unit, following the May 11 ruling by the Paris Court of Appeal.
The complaint was filed by Trial International and Reporters Without Borders. The groups accuse the Saudi crown prince of complicity in torture and enforced disappearance in the killing of Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist and Washington Post columnist who was brutally murdered at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
Khashoggi’s body was dismembered and could not be found.
PNAT said the Paris Court of Appeal found the complaints admissible because the possibility of the case being classified as a crime against humanity (potentially including the underlying crimes of torture and enforced disappearance) could not be ruled out at this stage.
The prosecutor’s office said it took into account the court’s decision, but added that the decision did not invalidate its interpretation of French criminal procedure rules on whether groups have the right to complain as civil parties.
France’s complaint was first made during Prince Mohammed’s visit to France in 2022. The crown prince faced international isolation following Khashoggi’s killing but has since Re-accepted by Western leaders and dignitaries.
Opening a judicial investigation in France does not mean that Prince Mohammed has been charged or that French judges have found him responsible. This means that the investigating judge will examine whether the complaint will lead to further litigation.
Prince Mohammed has denied ordering Khashoggi’s killing, but said it happened under his watch as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.
US intelligence agencies had previously concluded that he approved the operation that led to the murder.
Saudi Arabia held a closed hearing into the killing and said it would punish those responsible, but human rights groups said the trial was opaque and inadequate.
