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The Prosecutor V. Muhammed Bin Salman

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The Prosecutor V. Muhammed Bin Salman A Petition to Open an Investigation Pursuant to Article 1 5 of the Rome Statute in the International Criminal Court The Prosecutor v. Muhammed bin Salman For the Kidnapping, Torture and Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi and Other Crimes Against Humani '.-L--��, dence Unit Information & Evi 19 JUL 20\9 RECEIVED SUBMISSION OF CHARGING SAUDI ARABIAN CROWN PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN WITH CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN THE ASSASSINATION OF JAMAL KHASHOGGI AND TORTURE, RAPE, ILLEGAL DETENTIONS, WRONGFUL PROSECUTIONS, EXTORTION, AND THE DEATH PENALTY AGAINST POLITICAL OPPONENTS TO: FATOU BENSOUDA CHIEF PROSECUTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT Information and Evidence Unit Office of the Prosecutor Post Office Box 19519 2500 CM The Hague The Netherlands [email protected] PREPARED BY: BRUCE FEIN, ESQUIRE AND W. BRUCE DELVALLE, ESQUIRE FEIN & DELVALLE, PLLC 300 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 900 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20001 Dear Chief Prosecutor Bensouda and the Information and Evidence Unit of the Office of the Prosecutor: INTRODUCTION Pursuant to Articles 13 (b) and 15 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, through its undersigned attorneys, respectfully requests the Chief Prosecutor to petition the United Nations Security Council to refer the case of Mohammed bin Salman’s crimes against humanity to the International Criminal Court for investigation and prosecution acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. The Security Council made such references in 2005 regarding Darfur in Sudan and in 2011 regarding Libya. Neither Sudan nor Libya were parties to the Rome Statute. Petitioner also requests the Chief Prosecutor to seek Pre-Trial Chamber approval to open an investigation of the Crown Prince under Article 15 because his crimes against humanity were perpetrated in part in States Page 2 of 25 Fein & DelValle, PLLC 300 New Jersey Ave, NW Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20001 which are parties to the Rome Statute, including Jordan, which authorizes jurisdiction under Article 12, paragraph 2 (a). As part of a widespread of systematic attack directed at civilian political opponents both in Saudi Arabia and around the globe, Mohammed bin Salman, through command or superior responsibility, is guilty of murder, torture, rape, extortion, illegal detentions, wrongful prosecutions, and the death penalty, i.e., crimes against humanity as defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute. The victims have been selected because of their opposition to the Crown Prince’s merciless tyranny. Singling them out because of their political views violates, among other things, Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. A component of the Crown Prince’s systematic attacks or persecution of his opponents was his order to assassinate courageous journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which was executed by the Saudi Rapid Intervention Group by killing and dismembering the him in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Page 3 of 25 Fein & DelValle, PLLC 300 New Jersey Ave, NW Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20001 Petitioner's submission establishes a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation of the Crown Prince under either Article 15, paragraph 3 upon referral by the United Nations Security Council under Article 13 (b); or, under Article 12, paragraph 2 (b). Accordingly, Petitioner urges the Chief Prosecutor to request the Security Council to make a reference to investigate the Crown Prince pursuant to Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, and to request Pre-Trial Chamber approval to open an investigation of the Crown Prince under Article 15, paragraph 3. The undersigned, on behalf of Petitioner, is prepared to provide supplementary evidence and any other assistance deemed necessary or proper by the Chief Prosecutor. THE PETITIONER Page 4 of 25 Fein & DelValle, PLLC 300 New Jersey Ave, NW Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20001 THE ACCUSED MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, since June 2017, has been Crown Prince of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . The Crown Prince, de jure or de facto, is endowed with limitless unchecked power. Nothing of significance happens in the Kingdom absent the Crown Prince’s direction or approval. He exercises command or superior responsibility over every official in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the twin concepts are defined in Article 28 of the Rome Statute. Since his elevation as Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman has ruthlessly and systematically persecuted his political detractors, opponents, or rivals. The means employed, as amplified hereafter, include murder, torture, rape, kidnapping, arbitrary detentions, extortion, show trials, and the death penalty. In the past two years, since Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman has acquired power, the United Nations and human rights organizations have reported a harrowing deterioration of human rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, characterized by arbitrary detention, imprisonment, unfair trial, the use of torture, and enforced disappearances. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has also imprisoned princes and businessmen Page 5 of 25 Fein & DelValle, PLLC 300 New Jersey Ave, NW Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20001 in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton on dubious and trumped-up accusations of corruption. There is further, evidence of a program of abduction of princes and princesses, living abroad, including the abductions of Sultan Ben Turki Al-Saoud, Turki Ben Bandar Al-Saoud, Saoud Ben Saif Al-Nasr, and Tarek Obaid. JURISDICTION The Court enjoys jurisdiction over crimes against humanity under Article 5 of the Rome Statute. The Court may exercise jurisdiction over the Crown Prince under Article 13 (b) of the Rome Statute upon referral by the United Nations Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. The Court may also exercise jurisdiction over crimes against humanity if they occur in whole or in part in one or more States which are parties to the Rome Statute. Jordan is a State Party, and the Crown Prince’s crimes against humanity were perpetrated in part through the kidnapping of Faisal al-Jarba in Jordan by the Crown Prince’s Saudi Rapid Intervention Group. CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY Article 7 of the Rome Statute defines a “crime against humanity” Page 6 of 25 Fein & DelValle, PLLC 300 New Jersey Ave, NW Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20001 as a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population including persecution based on political opinion. Acts of persecution include murder, torture, rape, arbitrary imprisonment, or other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering. MURDER OF JOURNALIST JAMAL KHASHOGGI Mohammed bin Salman is guilty of ordering the assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, resident of the United States and columnist for The Washington Post. The assassination was carried out by a 15-member hit team of Saudi agents on or about October 2, 2018, in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Prior to that date, the Crown Prince has unsuccessfully sought to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia and detain him, his signature tactic for silencing dissenters. Mohammed bin Salman attempted to lure other opposition figures back to the Kingdom with promises of money and safety. At least a year before the Khashoggi assassination, the Crown Prince had authorized a secret campaign to silence dissidents through surveillance, kidnapping, detention, torture, or otherwise. Page 7 of 25 Fein & DelValle, PLLC 300 New Jersey Ave, NW Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20001 Audio and video recordings from inside the consulate prove that Saudi agents, including a forensic expert on autopsies, had murdered Mr. Khashoggi and dismembered his body. Turkey’s top prosecutor has concluded that Mr. Khashoggi was strangled immediately after he entered the Saudi Consulate, but his body remains undiscovered— possibly destroyed in acid. The United States Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s assassination based on audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence links. The United States National Security Agency reported that in 2017 the Crown Prince related to a senior aide that he would use a “bullet” on Khashoggi if he did not return to the Kingdom and cease his criticism of Saudi tyranny. Intelligence intercepts also show the Crown Prince communicated with notorious bosom lieutenant Saud al-Qahtani in the hours before and after Khashoggi’s assassination. On November 2, 2018, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote in an essay in the Global Opinions section of The Washington Post Page 8 of 25 Fein & DelValle, PLLC 300 New Jersey Ave, NW Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20001 that the order to murder Khashoggi “came from the highest levels of the Saudi government.” On December 13, 2018, the United States Senate voted to condemn Mohammed bin Salman for Khashoggi’s assassination. On June 19, 2019, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, declared that “the killing of Mr. Khashoggi constitutes an international crime falling within the parameters of universal jurisdiction.” Ms. Callamard conducted “an independent human rights inquiry” into Khashoggi’s assassination that was presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council June 19, 2019. Ms. Callamard’s report, entitled “Annex to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions: Investigation into the unlawful death of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi” (hereinafter
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