The Paris-based media advocacy group said in a statement that it had filed the complaint Monday in a federal court in Karlsruhe, Germany, demanding that prosecutors open a formal investigation. The court confirmed to CNN Business that it had received the complaint.
According to Reporters Without Borders, the indictment accuses the Crown Prince and four other Saudi officials of having “organizational or executive responsibility” for the murder of Khashoggi, as well as involvement in “developing a state policy to attack and silence journalists” .
Saudi officials did not immediately respond to CNNs requests for comment on the complaint from Reporters Without Borders.
Saudi Arabia rejected the allegations. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement in response to the report’s publication stating that the country “completely rejects the report’s negative, false and unacceptable assessment regarding the leadership of the Kingdom, noting that it report contained inaccurate information and conclusions “.
The Crown Prince has denied ordering the murder of Khashoggi, but has said he bears the responsibility.
“This was a heinous crime,” he said in an interview with CBS in 2019. “But I take full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia, especially since it was committed by individuals working for the Saudi government.”
Khashoggi’s murder and detentions “reveal a system that threatens the life and freedom of every journalist in Saudi Arabia – especially those who publicly speak out against the Saudi government,” Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. Saudi Arabia is ranked 170 out of 180 countries in the group’s World Press Freedom Index.
“Those responsible for the prosecution of journalists in Saudi Arabia, including the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, should be held responsible for their crimes,” Reporters Without Borders Secretary General Christophe Deloire said in the statement. “As these serious crimes against journalists continue unabated, we call on the German prosecutor to take a stand and open an investigation into the crimes we have revealed.”
Reporters Without Borders said the German judiciary is the “most appropriate system” to receive his complaint, as the courts have the power to investigate a number of international crimes and “have already shown a willingness and readiness to deal with international criminals. to prosecute “.
In June 2019, Agnes Callamard, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, found it “unthinkable” that the Saudi royal heir was unaware of the operation. In September 2020, a Saudi court sentenced eight defendants to jail, a verdict Callamard called a “parody of justice.”
Last week, Callamard called on the United States to fully release its findings on Khashoggi’s “brutal extrajudicial execution,” saying that as his remains have yet to be traced, the international crime of enforced disappearance continues.
His loved ones will continue to suffer until Saudi Arabia reveals what has been done with his remains, she said.
– Will Godley, Sarah El Sirgany and Nic Robertson contributed to the reporting.