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Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing

bbc.com

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Re: Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing

#61

Post by dfxm12 »

djschnei wrote: post #2

We want to be green so we're trying to stop drilling for oil. But we also need oil because our society runs on it. This guy has oil. This guy can therefore do whatever he likes. This is obviously way better than drilling at home.

This guy has oil. This guy can therefore do whatever he likes.

There's lots of guys who had oil who, when they did things the US didn't like, found themselves without anyone to sell oil to, without a country to run or maybe worse.

I agree KSA has a special relationship with the US (and much of the west), but it's not just about oil.

Re: Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing

#62

Post by erellsworth »

pessimizer wrote: post #37

I thought the rule of law was the reason behind the endless quest to disqualify Trump from being the President or running for the Presidency, but actually heads of state can sawzall barely-critical journalists into a pile of body parts as a fee for a marriage license.

To be fair, Salman is also disqualified from being President here.

Re: Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing

#63

Post by criddell »

chrsig wrote: post #10

Shameful. There shouldn't be such a thing as immunity over murder.

Just yesterday I saw a clip on CNN of Merrick Garland saying nobody is above the law. At the time he was being asked about the Jan 6 investigation. I guess he should have said "only current heads of state are above the law".

Re: Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing

#64

Post by dvt »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #43
lbriner wrote: post #20

He was not given immunity, he has de-facto immunity due to his position. Imagine if that didn't exist? Biden visits Qatar and gets arrested for dis-respecting their leaders? I can see that all working out. The truth is, I doubt there would be much decent evidence that would hold up in Court. It's like Russians being murdered outside of Russia, "of course" Putin would have had to order it but "of course" wouldn't cut…

>Imagine if that didn't exist? Biden visits Qatar and gets arrested for dis-respecting their leaders? I can see that all working out. I do not have a problem with that. If you want to be part of the civilized world, you have to act civilized. And if Qatar wants to arrest Biden for disrespect, then either Qatar’s leaders will find out what the US spends its military funds on, or US taxpayers will find out how much of…

This is a bad take, as it would make diplomacy a very precarious proposition (whereas its entire purpose is to be weak & non-committal). Diplomatic immunity is nothing new and in fact MBS doesn't even assert conduct-based immunity (he's using the even broader "head of state immunity").

Re: Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing

#65

Post by throwaway212135 »

chrsig wrote: post #7
sovnade wrote: post #3

So he can't be held liable because he is the Prime Minister of SA. Essentially the same thing here where the sitting President cannot be directly charged with a crime (or sued personally).

Or past presidents, it would seem.

No post body was provided.

Re: Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing

#66

Post by barelysapient »

rajeshp1986 wrote: post #28
habibur wrote: post #5

The same happened to Modi, the PM of India, if my memory serves me right. He was banned from entering USA for his deeds, until he turned out to be the head of India. Apparently your only way out is to be the head of your state, if you have done something evil.

Let me clarify some points at the risk of sounding like a Modi supporter. Modi had gone though investigations and was acquitted by the Supreme court of India. It was definitely failure of government mechanism and officials but not state sponsored voilence. " The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed allegations of "larger conspiracy" levelled by Zakia Jafri, widow of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the 2002…

Are there any 'independent' agencies in Saudi? Is such a thing possible in an absolute monarchy?

Re: Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing

#68

Post by meaydinli »

rajeshp1986 wrote: post #28
habibur wrote: post #5

The same happened to Modi, the PM of India, if my memory serves me right. He was banned from entering USA for his deeds, until he turned out to be the head of India. Apparently your only way out is to be the head of your state, if you have done something evil.

Let me clarify some points at the risk of sounding like a Modi supporter. Modi had gone though investigations and was acquitted by the Supreme court of India. It was definitely failure of government mechanism and officials but not state sponsored voilence. " The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed allegations of "larger conspiracy" levelled by Zakia Jafri, widow of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the 2002…

How is investigation of Modi by "Supreme court of India" an independent investigation? It is the classic case of "we looked into our wrong doing and found nothing"

Re: Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing

#69

Post by peoplefromibiza »

trompetenaccoun wrote: post #17

Misleading headline by the BBC, as is tradition. He wasn't given anything, it's simply the status quo - whether we like it our not. It's also not a US thing but an international convention: https://www.justsecurity.org/68801/head-of-state-immunity-is...

No post body was provided.

Re: Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing

#70

Post by xerxesaa »

Kukumber wrote: post #34

And the US complains about Russia in Ukraine This comedy is fascinating

While I think I get the point you're trying to make, one is a murder of a single individual in their embassy. The other is an all out war across a border. Not sure how they are really comparable.
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