The writer and CEO of The Washington Post slammed President Joe Biden for “granting a license to kill” to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince after Biden’s administration mentioned Prince Mohammed bin Salman must be shielded from lawsuits associated to the killing of Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
“In granting legal immunity to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Biden is failing to uphold America’s most cherished values,” Fred Ryan, the writer and CEO of The Washington Post, said in a statement Friday. “He is granting a license to kill to one of the world’s most egregious human-rights abusers who is responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist.”
On Thursday, the Biden administration introduced in a court docket submitting that bin Salman is shielded from a lawsuit filed by the fiancée of Khashoggi, a Saudi nationwide vital of the royal household who was killed and dismembered after getting into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
The administration’s reasoning relies on the crown prince’s latest ascension to prime minister ― a title normally reserved for a member of the Saudi monarch ― that grants him legal protection from lawsuits.
The State Department mentioned in its Thursday court docket submitting that the choice to defend the crown prince from U.S. courts in Khashoggi’s homicide was “purely a legal determination.”
Ryan mentioned the American folks “deserve better” from Biden.
“While legitimate heads of government should be protected from lawsuits, the Saudi’s decision to make MBS prime minister was a cynical, calculated effort to manipulate the law and shield him from accountability,” he mentioned. “By going along with the scheme, President Biden is turning his back on fundamental principles of press freedom and equality. The American people ― and those wronged by MBS in Saudi Arabia and around the world ― deserve better.”
