Reporters Without Borders Files Criminal Complaint Against Saudi Arabia
After the United States indicated that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Reporters Without Borders filed a criminal complaint with German prosecutors charging crimes against humanity, including four other officials.
It was based on events happening in 2018 in the Saudi Embassy in Ankara, captured on an audio bug by Turkish officials, where Khashoggi could be heard screaming as he was killed and decapitated.
The complaint was filed in Germany because it accepts allegations filed with prosecutors from anyone and requires a review to determine whether there can be a formal investigation.
German law allows prosecutors to claim universal jurisdiction in crimes against humanity; however, they are usually rejected. Still, the group said that it had “determined that the German judiciary is the best suited system to receive such a complaint.”
“Those responsible for the persecution of journalists in Saudi Arabia, including the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, must be held accountable for their crimes,” Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said in a statement.
“While these serious crimes against journalists continue unabated, we call on the German prosecutor to take a stand and open an investigation into the crimes we have revealed,” he added.
The declassified US intelligence report was released after being suppressed by the former administration of President Donald Trump, and said the killing was ordered because Khashoggi was critical of the Crown Prince and Saudi government.
The complaint named the Crown Prince's advisor Saud Al-Qahtani and three other high-ranking Saudi officials, detailing cases of 34 others said to be “victims of widespread and systematic attacks for political reasons.”
“The 35 cases detailed in the complaint reveal a system that threatens the life and liberty of any journalist in Saudi Arabia - in particular those who speak out publicly against the Saudi government,” the group said according to reports by The Voice of America.
The named suspects were identified for their “organizational or executive responsibility in Khashoggi's killing, as well as their involvement in developing a state policy to attack and silence journalists,” the statement added.
Treading carefully in light of bilateral trade agreements on oil and weaponry, the US stopped short of accusing the Crown Prince directly.
But the report said he had “absolute control” over intelligence organizations and said it would have been highly unlikely the killing could have been carried out without his explicit approval.
Saudia Arabia's UN Ambassador, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, disputed the claims, saying the report didn't come “anywhere close” to proof of any allegations against the Crown Prince, the Associated Press reported.
“While the United States remains invested in its relationship with Saudi Arabia, President (Joe) Biden has made clear that partnership must reflect US values,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
“To that end, we have made absolutely clear that extraterritorial threats and assaults by Saudi Arabia against activists, dissidents, and journalists must end. They will not be tolerated by the United States,” Blinken added.