In the civil proceedings over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Turkey, the Biden administration finally granted immunity to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. “In any case, we simply follow the law”, justified the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, before flying to the Gulf. The matter was brought by the judge who is investigating the case, brought in 2020 by Khashoggi’s girlfriend against MBS, for kidnapping, torture and murder. At the time, the crown prince was not yet a sovereign and the judge wanted the opinion of the administration. Early in his term, Joe Biden vowed to hold the heir accountable for human rights abuses and release an intelligence report revealing MBS ordered the killing.
