Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s new title, announced this week, could prove more significant abroad than inside the kingdom, where he already wields enormous power.
The appointment by royal decree comes ahead of a deadline for US President Joe Biden’s administration to consider whether Prince Mohammed qualifies for immunity from lawsuits brought in American courts.
The 37-year-old de facto ruler of the world’s largest crude oil exporter has been targeted several times in recent years, most notably over the 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, which temporarily rendered him an outcast from the West .
His lawyers have on file argued that he “heads the government of Saudi Arabia” and therefore qualifies for statutory immunity.
Human rights activists and government critics immediately speculated this week that the appointment of Prince Mohammed as prime minister was a blunt attempt to bolster immunity claims and avoid legal exposure.
Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the Khashoggi-founded NGO Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), told AFP it was a “last-ditch effort to conjure up a new title for him” — in other words, “a title wash trick.” .
Saudi officials did not respond to requests for comment on the move.
– Hit Squads and Hacks –
In October 2020, two years after Khashoggi’s death, DAWN, along with Khashoggi’s fiancé Hatice Cengiz, filed a complaint in the United States, accusing Prince Mohammed of involvement in a “conspiracy” that resulted in Khashoggi being kidnapped, tied up, drugged , tortured and murdered .
Last year, Biden released an intelligence report that found Prince Mohammed had authorized the operation against Khashoggi, a claim Saudi authorities dispute.
The legal threats against Prince Mohammed in US courts go beyond Khashoggi.
He was also named in a lawsuit brought by Saad al-Jabri, a former senior intelligence official who fell out of favor when Prince Mohammed maneuvered to be first in line to the throne in 2017.
That complaint accuses Prince Mohammed of trying to lure Jabri back to Saudi Arabia from exile in Canada – and then, when that didn’t work, of “using a hit squad” to kill him on Canadian soil, a conspiracy that was thwarted when most would -be attackers were turned back at the border.
In another case, Prince Mohammed was accused by Lebanese journalist Ghada Oueiss of being involved in a plan to hack her mobile device and disseminate “stolen personal images” in order to defame her and prevent her from reporting on human rights issues .
The question of immunity seemed to come to a head over the summer when a US judge gave Biden’s government until August 1 to say whether it thought Prince Mohammed qualified.
After Biden visited Saudi Arabia in July and ditched an earlier promise to turn Saudi Arabia into a “pariah,” his government asked for an additional 60 days to decide whether to comment on the matter.
The new deadline falls on Monday at the latest.
– Being in control at home –
Prior to this week’s announcement, Prince Mohammed, often referred to by his initials “MBS,” served as deputy prime minister and defense minister, managing key portfolios from energy to security and beyond.
Because of his new title, little is expected to change within the kingdom, said Umar Karim, an expert on Saudi politics at Birmingham University.
“MBS was already in complete control and there was no threat as such to him that could be countered by becoming prime minister,” Karim said.
At the same time, it is not clear whether the appointment as prime minister will significantly strengthen Prince Mohammed’s claim to immunity, as King Salman remains head of state.
Observers pointed out that King Salman chaired a cabinet meeting on the same day Prince Mohammed’s promotion was announced.
Even if the immunity issue is resolved in the United States, it is likely to arise in other countries.
In July, a group of NGOs in France filed a complaint alleging that Prince Mohammed was an accomplice in Khashoggi’s torture and enforced disappearance.
They said the charges could be pursued in France, which recognizes universal jurisdiction.
Prince Mohammed has “no immunity from prosecution because, as crown prince, he is not a head of state,” it said.
