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France Appoints Judge to Probe Jamal Khashoggi Killing After Rights Groups' Complaints

The ruling opens a rare path for a French crimes-against-humanity judge to test jurisdiction over an extraterritorial killing.

FILE - People hold posters of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, near the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul, on Oct. 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
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A demonstrator holds a poster with a picture of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi outside the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul, Turkey October 25, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal/File Photo

Overview

  • France's anti-terror prosecutor said Saturday an investigating judge from the crimes-against-humanity unit will examine alleged torture and enforced disappearance tied to the 2018 killing.
  • The move follows the Paris Court of Appeal's May 11 decision that accepted complaints from TRIAL International and Reporters Without Borders, while rejecting a separate DAWN filing.
  • Under French law, judges can probe serious crimes committed abroad, yet bringing charges typically requires suspects to be on French soil, which can limit any case.
  • Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and U.S. resident, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, and U.S. intelligence later said the crown prince approved the operation.
  • The inquiry creates a new path after Turkey halted its trial in 2022 and a U.S. court dismissed a civil suit on immunity grounds, yet the judge has not charged anyone.