Saudi Who Claims Crown Prince Wants Him Killed Wins A Legal Step
Over decades of service in the Saudi government, Aljabri said in the suit, he became privy to sensitive information about Prince Mohammed's "covert political scheming within the Royal Court"
A U.S. judge ordered Air Canada and Lufthansa to preserve travel records for use as evidence by a former high-level Saudi official who claims Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is trying to have him killed.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington ruled the files must be available for use by the former official, Saad Aljabri, in the event that his lawsuit against the crown prince survives a pending motion to toss it out.
"The records facing potential destruction are important enough to this case such that their loss would cause irreparable harm to plaintiff," Kelly said in the decision Thursday.
Aljabri's suit, filed in August 2020, accuses Prince Mohammed of deploying operatives in the U.S. to track him down and then dispatching a team to murder him, weeks after the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly on the orders of the Saudi royal.
Aljabri argues the airline records will show the movement of his would-be killers, making them crucial to case. He had asked for permission to subpoena the airlines to get immediate access to the data, but Kelly said it was too early for that because he hasn't yet ruled on a request to dismiss the suit.
The prince's lawyer, Michael K. Kellogg, declined to comment.
Aljabri is suing Prince Mohammed -- the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, who is often referred to as MBS -- under the Torture Victim Protection Act and the Alien Tort Statute, which give the U.S. court system jurisdiction over lawsuits alleging certain types of offenses in other countries. He alleges MBS has had two of his children kidnapped in Saudi Arabia and that the prince has threatened others to draw him out of hiding.
Over decades of service in the Saudi government, Aljabri said in the suit, he became privy to sensitive information about Prince Mohammed's "covert political scheming within the Royal Court" as well as his business dealings and his role in creating a team of operatives to kill Khashoggi.
The case is Aljabri v. Mohammed bin Salman, 1:20-cv-02146, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Washington).
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington ruled the files must be available for use by the former official, Saad Aljabri, in the event that his lawsuit against the crown prince survives a pending motion to toss it out.
"The records facing potential destruction are important enough to this case such that their loss would cause irreparable harm to plaintiff," Kelly said in the decision Thursday.
Aljabri's suit, filed in August 2020, accuses Prince Mohammed of deploying operatives in the U.S. to track him down and then dispatching a team to murder him, weeks after the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly on the orders of the Saudi royal.
Aljabri argues the airline records will show the movement of his would-be killers, making them crucial to case. He had asked for permission to subpoena the airlines to get immediate access to the data, but Kelly said it was too early for that because he hasn't yet ruled on a request to dismiss the suit.
The prince's lawyer, Michael K. Kellogg, declined to comment.
Aljabri is suing Prince Mohammed -- the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, who is often referred to as MBS -- under the Torture Victim Protection Act and the Alien Tort Statute, which give the U.S. court system jurisdiction over lawsuits alleging certain types of offenses in other countries. He alleges MBS has had two of his children kidnapped in Saudi Arabia and that the prince has threatened others to draw him out of hiding.
Over decades of service in the Saudi government, Aljabri said in the suit, he became privy to sensitive information about Prince Mohammed's "covert political scheming within the Royal Court" as well as his business dealings and his role in creating a team of operatives to kill Khashoggi.
The case is Aljabri v. Mohammed bin Salman, 1:20-cv-02146, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Washington).
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
