French court clears path for probe into MBS over Khashoggi killing

A French investigative magistrate is set to open a formal probe into a complaint filed by rights groups against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman regarding the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The decision follows a court of appeal ruling in favour of the complainants, including Democracy for the Arab World Now, Trial International, and Reporters Without Borders, after years of legal disputes over the admissibility of the case.

The investigation will focus on charges of torture and enforced disappearances. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office confirmed that an investigating judge from the crimes against humanity unit will now handle the complaint. This development comes after the court of appeal handed down its decision on Monday, overturning previous opposition from the prosecutor's office regarding the case's admissibility.

Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident and Washington Post columnist critical of the Saudi government, was strangled and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. US intelligence services believe Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was directly responsible for the killing. The case has faced years of legal wrangling, with the prosecutor's office previously opposing the opening of a case on admissibility grounds.

DAWN and Trial International initially petitioned French courts during MBS's visit to France in July 2022. Reporters Without Borders subsequently joined the complaint. Lawyers for the groups, Emmanuel Daoud of RSF and Henri Thulliez of Trial International, stated that judicial obstacles have been removed.

Emmanuel Daoud described the killing as an "abominable crime" decided and planned at the highest level of the Saudi state. Henri Thulliez added that there should no longer be any obstacle to opening a judicial investigation into the atrocity. The specific scope and duration of the upcoming investigation are not detailed in the source material.