Saudi prince seeks to dismiss ‘hit squad’ suit
Ex-intelligence officer who now lives in Toronto claims he was targeted
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is facing allegations that he sent a “hit squad” to assassinate a former senior intelligence official now living in Canada, says he is immune from any legal action and that his accuser is attempting to divert attention from “massive theft.”
Lawyers for the crown prince filed a motion late Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed this summer by Saad Aljabri, who resides in Toronto.
“Aljabri’s complaint is steeped in drama, including an introduction that likens the crown prince to one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains,” the filing by bin Salman’s lawyers reads.
“But, regardless of its merits as literature, the complaint fails as a legal pleading.” Aljabri, who previously worked in the kingdom’s interior ministry and who describes himself as a “trusted partner of senior U.S. intelligence officials,” fled the kingdom in May 2017 — first to Turkey, then to Canada. He alleged in his lawsuit that he was targeted because of his “intimate” knowledge of bin Salman’s activities and potential to undermine bin
Salman’s influence.
According to the lawsuit, bin Salman sent Aljabri various death threats and sought to “lure” Aljabri out of hiding, including by ordering the abduction of two of his adult children in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.
The lawsuit alleges bin Salman, thinking Aljabri might be living in the United States, earlier recruited a network of covert agents living in that country to try to track him down.
Then in October 2018, the crown prince dispatched a team of Saudi nationals — a “Tiger Squad” — to Canada, according to the lawsuit. They attempted to enter Canada covertly, travelling with tourist visas and entering through separate kiosks, it says.
It is alleged that when Canadian
border security officers asked them if they knew each other, they lied and said they did not. But during a secondary screening, Canadian officials “found a photo of some of the Tiger Squad Defendants together, revealing their lie and thwarting their mission,” the suit alleges.
The lawsuit names bin Salman and several associates as defendants and alleges that the attempted “extrajudicial killing” was part of a broad campaign by the crown prince to silence dissidents — a campaign that allegedly included the high-profile murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
The crown prince has denied he ordered that killing and says the people responsible for Khashoggi’s death have been prosecuted in Saudi Arabia.
None of Aljabri’s allegations have been proven in court.
The response, filed by bin Salman’s lawyer, Michael Kellogg, on Monday night accuses Aljabri and his associates of misspending or outright stealing some $11 billion from a counterterrorism fund and of funnelling vast amounts of money out of the country, claims that Aljabri has previously said are “bogus.”
“The flaws in this complaint are so apparent and run so deep that it can only be regarded as an attempt to divert attention from plaintiff’s massive theft,” states the filing by bin Salman’s lawyers.
“Plaintiff can say whatever he wants to the newspapers. But this case does not belong in federal court. Aljabri cannot establish personal jurisdiction over the crown prince. He cannot establish subject-matter jurisdiction in this court. And he cannot state a single claim on the merits.”
His lawyers argue that U.S. federal court does not have jurisdiction over foreign individuals accused of attacks on foreign soil and that there is a “scant” nexus between Aljabri’s allegations and the U.S.
Regarding the claim, for instance, that bin Salman tapped a network of agents in the U.S. to “hunt” down Aljabri, bin Salman’s lawyers argue that the only evidence offered is that individuals spoke to Aljabri’s family members and acquaintances. Further, there is no evidence the crown prince ever spoke with the purported agents.
It goes on to say: “Canada, where Aljabri resides, and Saudi Arabia, where he is a citizen, have a stronger connection to this suit than the United States.”
The crown prince also asserts foreign official immunity, his lawyers say.
“The crown prince is the king’s son and designated successor. Together with the king, he sits at the apex of Saudi Arabia’s government. He is entitled to status-based immunity from any suit in U.S. court.”
The lawyers note that the Saudi embassy made a request for immunity from the U.S. State Department with respect to the crown prince.
Even if the court were to find Aljabri’s allegations true, the “Crown Prince is charged by Royal Order with ‘tak(ing) whatever measures deemed necessary’ to protect national security and root out corruption, which includes pursuing massive thefts from an anti-terrorism fund,” his lawyers add.
Aljabri alleges that bin Salman and his associates’ attempted extrajudicial killing, — a killing not authorized by a court — violated the U.S. Torture Victim Protection Act, as well as international law under the U.S. Alien Tort Statute.