Jailed by the facts he faces in France and denied by the position he has taken publicly, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is now set to be examined by a French investigating judge in a case stemming from the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the French national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
The prosecutor’s office, known as PNAT, said it would have the case handled by an investigating judge from the crimes against humanity unit following a May 11 ruling by the Paris Court of Appeal. PNAT said the move came after France’s appellate court ruled the complaints were admissible, because the possibility that the matter could be classified as a crime against humanity — potentially including torture and enforced disappearance — could not be ruled out at this stage.
PNAT said the complaints were filed by Trial International and Reporters Without Borders. The groups accused Mohammed bin Salman of complicity in torture and enforced disappearance over Khashoggi’s killing, describing him as a Saudi dissident journalist and Washington Post columnist who was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
The PNAT statement said Khashoggi’s body was dismembered and has never been found. It also said the Paris Court of Appeal’s decision did not invalidate PNAT’s own interpretation of the French criminal procedure rules that govern whether the groups were entitled to file the complaint as civil parties.
PNAT said it took note of the court’s decision while adding that the opening of a French judicial inquiry does not mean Mohammed has been charged or that French judges have found him responsible. It said an investigating judge will examine whether the complaint can lead to further proceedings.
The French complaint was initially filed in 2022 during a visit to France by the prince, AP reported. The office said Mohammed had faced international isolation after Khashoggi’s killing but has since been received again by Western leaders and dignitaries.
Mohammed has denied ordering Khashoggi’s killing, while saying it happened under his watch as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler. The case also comes amid prior U.S. intelligence agency conclusions that he approved the operation that led to the killing, and PNAT said Saudi Arabia held a closed-door trial and said it punished those responsible, while rights groups criticized the proceedings as opaque and insufficient.