In the context of the recurrent persecution of journalists in Saudi Arabia, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) recently filed a complaint against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and other high-ranking Saudi officials that are accused of being responsible for crimes against humanity.
The complaint, issued on 1 March 2021, has been filed with the German Public Prosecutor General of the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe. It comprises a 500-page document on the persecution of journalists in Saudi Arabia and the crimes against humanity that are being committed in the country, in complete awareness of their infringement with human rights principles. The complaint accuses the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, his close advisor Saud Al-Qahtani, and three other high-ranking Saudi officials, of having organized the assassination of the Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, and denounces the arbitrary detention of 34 journalists. Khashoggi was a United States resident travelling in Turkey, where he was assassinated by Saudi agents. Five individuals later admitted to the crime but the Crown Prince, who has been the subject of accusations of involvement since the beginning, still denies his implication.
RSF’s move follows the publication by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of a declassified intelligence briefing that confirms the Saudi crown prince as the orchestrator of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia rejected the allegations and affirms that it repudiates “the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions.”
Rather odd at first stance, there is no hazard in RSF submitting a complaint in Germany. German laws give its courts jurisdiction over international crimes. Thereby, the crime does not necessarily need to be committed in Germany to be brought before courts – overseas violations can also be prosecuted. According to the German Code of Crimes on International Law, the acts to which these journalists were subjected could constitute criminal offenses such as torture, sexual violence and coercion, enforced disappearance, unlawful deprivation of physical liberty, and persecution. Secondly, the German government has often expressed its concern regarding the protection of the right to freedom of expression and the defense of journalists around the world.
This is not the first time that RSF has spoken out about Saudi Arabia’s treatment of journalists. In the past, it has been vocal about resolving the cases of Jamal Khashoggi and Raif Badawi, and in 2014 released a statement calling for an investigation into the killing of Hussein al-Faraj, a photographer and journalist known for covering Saudi Arabia’s Arab Spring protest movement in its Eastern Province 2011. According to witness accounts, “his blood-splattered camera was found beside his bullet-ridden body.”
The recent condemnation of a Syrian secret police officer for his participation in barbarous acts against protesters gives hope to the human rights cause.
Condemning the Saudi government for “developing a state policy to attack and silence journalists,” RSF expects the German court to open an investigation into the human rights breaches that are described in the complaint. Saudi Arabia, which has long been criticized for its systematic attacks on the population for political reasons, might finally face a real price of committing crimes against humanity.
Anna Filipiak, ESOHR Intern