A lawyer for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked a judge to dismiss a case accusing the prince of ordering the killing of columnist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi, arguing that his new role as prime minister grants him legal immunity.
A Sept. 27 order naming Crown Prince Mohammed prime minister "leaves no doubt that the Crown Prince is entitled to status-based immunity,” lawyer Michael Kellogg said in a filing Monday in District of Columbia federal court. Kellogg said the court "should dismiss plaintiffs’ claims against the Crown Prince for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.”
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz appointed his son, the 37-year-old crown prince, as leader of the kingdom’s government on Sept. 27, formalizing his status as leader of the government. The crown prince, widely known by the initials MBS, already oversees many of the country’s major portfolios, and no reason was given for the move.