The Washington Post’s editor and CEO blasted President Joe Biden for “giving a license to kill” to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince after the Biden administration said Prince Mohammed bin Salman should be shielded from legal action over the killing of the Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
“By granting legal immunity to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Biden is failing to uphold America’s most cherished values,” said Fred Ryan, editor and managing director of The Washington Post. he said in a statement on Friday. “It gives permission to kill one of the world’s most egregious human rights abusers, responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.”
The Biden administration announced in a court filing Thursday that bin Salman is protected from a lawsuit filed by the girlfriend of Khashoggi, a Saudi critic of the royal family who was killed and dismembered after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
The administration’s reasoning is based on the crown prince’s recent elevation to the rank of prime minister — a title usually reserved for a member of the Saudi monarchy — which gives him legal protection from lawsuits.
On Thursday, the State Department said in a statement that the decision to shield the crown prince from US courts in Khashoggi’s killing was “a purely legal decision”.
Biden visited Saudi Arabia earlier this year to meet with the crown prince and was seen throwing a punch during the visit.
Ryan said the American people “deserve better” from Biden.
“While legitimate government leaders should be protected from lawsuits, the Saudi decision to appoint MBS as prime minister was a cynical and calculated effort to manipulate the law and shield him from accountability,” he said. “In the scheme, President Biden is moving away from the fundamental principles of press freedom and equality. The American people – and those wronged by MBS in Saudi Arabia and around the world – deserve better.”
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