Trump administration tries to provide legal immunity to MBS over al-Jabri case

SANAA, Dec. 22 (YPA) – The administration of President Donald Trump accelerated the time to provide legal immunity to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman  (MBS) before president-elect Joe Biden’s administration to take office, The Washington Post reported on Monday.

According to the paper, a federal lawsuit filed by former Saudi intelligence officer Saad al-Jabri accusing him of attempting to assassinate him.

The Saudi government requested bin Salman’s protection from liability in response to al-Jabri’s complaint, the newspaper said.

In August, al-Jabri filed a lawsuit against Bin Salman in a US court, accusing him of sending a squad team to kill him in Canada, similar to the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

On October 30, a US court summoned Bin Salman and nine others in the case.

The Washington Post said the State Department’s recommendation in such a case could also lead to the exclusion of Bin Salman as a defendant in other recent cases filed in the US, including those accusing him of ordering the killing of Khashoggi at his country’s consulate in Istanbul, and responsibility for a hacking operation to discredit Al Jazeera news anchor Ghada Aweys in response to her critical reports to him and Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed.

The paper noted that the US Department of State sent a questionnaire, last month, to al-Jabri’s lawyer, to obtain his legal opinions on whether the Saudi request should be approved, according to a person close to the family.

The Trump administration’s request comes as the State Department, al-Jabri’s family and US lawmakers have condemned Riyadh’s detention of two of Al-Jabri’s sons in an attempt to silence him.

Riyadh may be difficult to persuade Washington to grant immunity to MBS once Trump leaves office, the paper said. President-elect Joe Biden has said he will “reassess” the US relationship with the United Kingdom and condemned the killing of Khashoggi.

E.M