Argentine Prosecutors Consider Charges Against Saudi Crown Prince Ahead of G-20
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES
BY: DANIEL POLITI AND DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
BUENOS AIRES — Argentine authorities are looking into possible criminal charges against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia as he prepares to attend an international summit meeting of world leaders this week in Buenos Aires, officials involved in the inquiry said.
The inquiry, centering on allegations of war crimes during the Saudi-led military intervention in neighboring Yemen, is the most significant test yet of Prince Mohammed’s ability to move past the international uproar that has surrounded him since the killing of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a Virginia resident and Washington Post columnist.
The Khashoggi case, too, is expected to be part of the inquiry as well as allegations of torture in Saudi Arabia.
The investigation in Argentina, initiated by a complaint lodged by Human Rights Watch, the advocacy group, is in its early stages, and diplomatic or other kinds of immunity may ultimately shield the prince from any potential charges. Argentine officials called it extremely unlikely that the inquiry might produce an arrest warrant before the gathering, which is set to begin on Friday.
But even a small risk of a messy dispute in the Argentine courts could overshadow a trip previously seen as a chance for Prince Mohammed to show he remained welcome among world leaders even after the conclusion of American intelligence agencies that he had authorized the killing of Mr. Khashoggi.
Any retreat from the Group of 20 summit meeting, attended by the leaders of the world’s largest economies, could be a sign that the lingering stigma of the Khashoggi killing could hamper the continued effectiveness of the 33-year-old crown prince as a regional leader — a role that officials of the Trump administration have cited as a main reason to stand by him.
President Trump last week pushed back against the conclusion of American intelligence services about Prince Mohammed’s culpability while also acknowledging that he may have known about the killing: “maybe he did and maybe he didn’t,” Mr. Trump said in a statement.
Mr. Trump insisted that Washington should nonetheless continue to back Prince Mohammed, calculating that it was in the nation’s economic and strategic interest to do so: because Saudi Arabia is a valuable customer for American weapons, an important source of oil and a useful partner in containing Iran.
Bolstered by Mr. Trump’s support, Prince Mohammed recently embarked on a week of visits to Saudi allies in the region, where Saudi news organizations photographed him smiling and shaking hands with fellow Arab rulers, with no mention of the Khashoggi case.
But the move by Argentine prosecutors now threatens to interrupt his victory lap just as it reaches its finish, at the summit meeting where he was set to mingle with Mr. Trump and other Western leaders of the so-called G-20 countries.
“Mohammed bin Salman should know that he may face a criminal probe if he ventures to Argentina,” Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
The law in Argentina is unusually favorable for bringing international human rights cases because of the legacy of the country’s transition from a military dictatorship. During the military’s rule from 1976 to 1983, some 30,000 people were killed or disappeared. Argentina’s own immunity laws were overturned in the early 2000s, and its prosecutors have since charged thousands with human rights violations committed under military rule.
Argentine law has incorporated a broad interpretation of universal jurisdiction, the doctrine that some serious rights violations constitute offenses against humanity and should be subject to prosecution anywhere.
Carlos Rívolo, the head of the prosecutor’s association, said a complaint against the crown prince was referred to a prosecutor on Monday, and that prosecutor will now decide whether to open a formal investigation.
Such cases are assigned by draw in Argentina, and the prosecutor assigned to evaluate the potential charges, Ramiro González, could not be reached for comment.