Trump may protect Saudi prince in ‘ hit squad’ storm
DONALD Trump could give Saudi Arabia’s controversial ruler immunity from a lawsuit accusing him of ordering an assassination.
Saad Aljabri, a former top aide in the kingdom’s interior ministry, claims Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent agents to kill him in Canada, where he is in exile.
His legal action alleging the Saudi leader uses violence to silence critics, filed in Washington DC, offers little evidence for its claims.
The State Department gave Mr Aljabri’s lawyers a questionnaire asking for their views on Saudi Arabia’s request to grant Prince Mohammed immunity, the New York Times says.
Department officials are said to claim that, as the prince is the de facto ruler of a nation, he should be granted immunity.
Mr Aljabri’s son Dr Khalid Aljabri, who is a cardiologist in Canada, said that doing so would be ‘really dangerous’ and give Saudi Arabia a ‘US-issued licence to kill’.
Should Mr Trump grant immunity to Prince Mohammed, it could create a legal basis for dismissing other claims against him – including his alleged involvement in the assassination of the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
US intelligence agencies suspect the prince ordered the killing, which he denies.
Mr Trump has been a strong supporter of Saudi Arabia. Granting immunity from prosecution in the US would be a way for him to curry favour with a powerful friend who may prove useful after his presidency. It could also tie the hands of President- elect Joe Biden in the case brought in the United States by Mr Khashoggi’s fiancee over his killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Mr Biden has been outspoken in his criticism of Riyadh. Saudi officials and the US
State Department declined to comment.
It comes as America imposed fresh sanctions on Syria, targeting members of President Assad’s family and its central bank in a further attempt to force the country into talks to end its nine-year civil war.
Among those targeted are Asma al-Assad, 45, the Syrian president’s Briti s h- born wife, and her father Fawaz Akhras, 74, a Harley Street cardiologist.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has handed out 15 pardons, i ncluding to f our military contractors who shot dead 17 unarmed civilians in Baghdad in 2007.
Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, who used to work for the security company Blackwater, opened fire while escorting an American diplomatic convoy.
The contractors were given prison terms ranging between life and 30 years, later reduced on appeal.
Mr Trump also pardoned three Republicans and two people convicted in relation to alleged collusion between his supporters and Russia to win the 2016 election.
‘Granting a licence to kill’