DOCSLIB.ORG

The Prosecutor V. Muhammed Bin Salman

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

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
Recommended publications
  • 2016.03 HRC31 ADHRB Written Statement Saudi

    2016.03 HRC31 ADHRB Written Statement Saudi

    United Nations A/HRC/31/NGO/67 General Assembly Distr.: General 18 February 2016 English only Human Rights Council Thirty-first session Agenda item 4 Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention Written statement* submitted by Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain Inc, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31. [12 February 2016] * This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting non- governmental organization(s). GE.16-02395(E) *1602395* A/HRC/31/NGO/67 Death Sentences and Civil Society in Saudi Arabia Executions in Saudi Arabia Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain would like to use the occasion of the 31st Session of the Human Rights Council to express our serious concern at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s increased use of the death penalty and continued targeting of human rights defenders. Throughout 2015, the government continued its arrest, imprisonment, and sentencing of numerous human rights activists. In 2015, Saudi Arabia executed more than 150 people—the highest in a single year since 1995. On 2 January 2016, the Government of Saudi Arabia carried out a mass execution of 47 people. Among those executed included at least three political dissidents, several mentally ill prisoners, prisoners arrested for crimes committed as minors, and the Muslim cleric and human rights activist Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr. Sheikh Nimr was a popular social and religious leader who denounced systematic discrimination against Saudi Arabia’s minorities and called for activists to use nonviolent resistance to achieve justice and equality for all Saudi citizens.
  • Mohammed Bin Salman Doesn't Want to Talk About Jerusalem by Robert Satloff

    Mohammed Bin Salman Doesn't Want to Talk About Jerusalem by Robert Satloff

    MENU Policy Analysis / Articles & Op-Eds Mohammed bin Salman Doesn't Want to Talk About Jerusalem by Robert Satloff Dec 14, 2017 Also available in Arabic ABOUT THE AUTHORS Robert Satloff Robert Satloff is executive director of The Washington Institute, a post he assumed in January 1993. Articles & Testimony Saudi Arabia's rulers have lots of worries, but Trump's announcement about the holy city isn't one of them. audi Arabia, the protector of Islam and home to its two holiest sites, is a good place to judge the impact of S President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on U.S. interests in the region. Set aside the reaction of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, and their state sponsors in Tehran and Damascus. And the angry responses from the Palestinian Authority and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with its large and boisterous Palestinian population, were certainly to be expected. The real question is how America’s friends one step removed from the circle of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would react. If there were a place one might reasonably expect to hear Muslims expressing thunderous outrage at the handing of Jerusalem to the Jews, it would be in the corridors of power in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. It didn’t happen. Last week, I was in Riyadh leading a delegation of more than 50 supporters and fellows of the Middle East think tank I direct. On Wednesday, just hours before the president made his Jerusalem announcement, we spent five hours in meetings with three different Saudi ministers, discussing everything from crises with Yemen, Qatar, and Lebanon, to the kingdom’s ambitious “Vision 2030” reform program, to the possible public offering of the state oil company Aramco.
  • Presentazione Standard Di Powerpoint

    Presentazione Standard Di Powerpoint

    I L M I O C I N E M A P R E F E R I T O . S E M P R E ! IL PROGETTO LA PRIMA PIATTAFORMA DIGITALE CHE METTE AL CENTRO LA SALA CINEMATOGRAFICA E IL SUO PUBBLICO VISION Non una semplice piattaforma on demand, ma uno strumento dinamico per chi ama andare al cinema in grado di offrire oltre alla visione in sala, film in streaming, promozioni, contenuti originali, servizi, informazioni, masterclass, anteprime esclusive e altro. MISSION • Creare la prima comunità del cinema d’autore in Italia, diventando un punto di riferimento per il vasto pubblico di appassionati. • Lavorare insieme alle sale ad un sistema integrato di offerta e comunicazione, che ribadisca il ruolo centrale del cinema come punto di riferimento sociale e culturale sul territorio. • Promuovere il cinema italiano ed europeo. GRANDI NOVITÀ PER MIOCINEMA Il mese di febbraio sarà significativo per MioCinema, e segnerà un importante passo avanti per la piattaforma. Ci saranno quattro novità sostanziali: 1. RINNOVAMENTO GRAFICO E TECNOLOGICO 2. MULTIPIATTAFORMA 3. MIOCINEMA ORIGINAL 4. CANALE «ZALAB» RINNOVAMENTO GRAFICO E TECNOLOGICO • MioCinema avrà una nuova veste grafica, più moderna e accattivante. • Tutti i film saranno divisi per linee editoriali ben definite e facilmente raggiungibili. Ci saranno delle sezioni dedicate per ogni rassegna, con tutti i film e i contenuti extra a portata di mano. • Acquistare un film sarà più semplice per l’utente che potrà registrare il proprio metodo di pagamento per tutti gli acquisti futuri. MULTIPIATTAFORMA A partire da metà febbraio MioCinema sarà fruibile attraverso tutte le più importanti applicazioni TV, per una rinnovata esperienza per l’utente.
  • Saudi Arabia Reportedly Paid Twitter Employees to Spy on Users

    Saudi Arabia Reportedly Paid Twitter Employees to Spy on Users

    11/8/2019 Cybersecurity experts say insider spying is an issue beyond Twitter - Business Insider Subscribe Saudi Arabia reportedly paid Twitter employees to spy on users. Cybersecurity experts say insider spying is an issue that goes beyond Twitter. Aaron Holmes 21 hours ago Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right. Reuters US federal prosecutors have charged two former Twitter employees with spying on users on behalf of Saudi Arabia's government — and experts warn that it could happen again. https://www.businessinsider.com/cybersecurity-experts-say-insider-spying-is-an-issue-beyond-twitter-2019-11 1/5 11/8/2019 Cybersecurity experts say insider spying is an issue beyond Twitter - Business Insider Three cybersecurity experts told Business Insider about broader "insider threats," or the risk of surveillance and data breaches carried out by people employed by tech companies. The experts warned that tech companies should implement safeguards by addressing workplace culture, setting up ways to detect unusual behavior by employees, and more robustly protecting user data across the board. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Federal charges unsealed Wednesday allege that Saudi Arabia carried out a massive online spying operation, snooping on the accounts of more than 6,000 Twitter users — and prosecutors say the country did it with the help of two Twitter employees. Now, cybersecurity experts warn that similar "insider threats" could surface again if tech companies don't make a concerted eort to ward them o. Twitter responded to the federal charges Wednesday, saying the company was thankful for the investigation and would cooperate with future investigations.
  • Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy in the MENA Region Ten Years After the Arab Spring

    Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy in the MENA Region Ten Years After the Arab Spring

    Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy in the MENA Region Ten Years After the Arab Spring Thursday, April 28, 2021 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Virtual vis Cisco WebEx As prepared for delivery Good morning and thank you for joining us today for this Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on the Middle East and North Africa ten years after the Arab Spring. I extend a special welcome to the witnesses and thank them for their commitment to human rights and for sharing their expertise with us today. It’s been ten years since a wave of popular pro-democracy, pro-human rights movements in mostly Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa inspired hope in the region and the world. In short order we witnessed the resignation of an authoritarian president in Tunisia, important constitutional reforms in Morocco and the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. Change seemed on the horizon in Bahrain and in Syria. But ten years later, many of the initial successes have been rolled back. Most of the popular movements have been brutally repressed by authoritarian rulers who, instead of being replaced by democratic leaders, have consolidated their grip on power. Syria, Yemen and Libya have been ravaged by armed conflicts with devastating humanitarian consequences for the region and the world. Rep. James P. McGovern, MENA Ten Years After the Arab Spring, Page 1 of 4 As we will hear today, authoritarian governments across the region have used similar methods to suppress dissent, many of which are simply and unequivocally human rights violations.
  • The Changing Geopolitics in the Arab World: Implications of the 2017 Gulf Crisis for Business Jamal Bouoiyour, Refk Selmi

    The Changing Geopolitics in the Arab World: Implications of the 2017 Gulf Crisis for Business Jamal Bouoiyour, Refk Selmi

    The Changing Geopolitics in the Arab World: Implications of the 2017 Gulf Crisis for Business Jamal Bouoiyour, Refk Selmi To cite this version: Jamal Bouoiyour, Refk Selmi. The Changing Geopolitics in the Arab World: Implications of the 2017 Gulf Crisis for Business. ERF 25th Annual Conference, Mar 2019, Kuwait City, Kuwait. hal- 02071921 HAL Id: hal-02071921 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02071921 Submitted on 18 Mar 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. The Changing Geopolitics in the Arab World: Implications of the 2017 Gulf Crisis for Business Jamal Bouoiyour IRMAPE, ESC Pau Business school, France. CATT, University of Pau, France. E-mail: [email protected] Refk Selmi IRMAPE, ESC Pau Business school, France. CATT, University of Pau, France. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: The international community was caught by surprise on 5 June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilizing the region. More than one year after this diplomatic rift, several questions remain unaddressed. This study focuses on the regional business costs of the year-long blockade on Qatar.
  • Russia and Saudi Arabia: Old Disenchantments, New Challenges by John W

    Russia and Saudi Arabia: Old Disenchantments, New Challenges by John W

    STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES 35 Russia and Saudi Arabia: Old Disenchantments, New Challenges by John W. Parker and Thomas F. Lynch III Center for Strategic Research Institute for National Strategic Studies National Defense University Institute for National Strategic Studies National Defense University The Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) is National Defense University’s (NDU’s) dedicated research arm. INSS includes the Center for Strategic Research, Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, and Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The military and civilian analysts and staff who comprise INSS and its subcomponents execute their mission by conducting research and analysis, publishing, and participating in conferences, policy support, and outreach. The mission of INSS is to conduct strategic studies for the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the unified combatant commands in support of the academic programs at NDU and to perform outreach to other U.S. Government agencies and the broader national security community. Cover: Vladimir Putin presented an artifact made of mammoth tusk to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud in Riyadh, October 14–15, 2019 (President of Russia Web site) Russia and Saudi Arabia Russia and Saudia Arabia: Old Disenchantments, New Challenges By John W. Parker and Thomas F. Lynch III Institute for National Strategic Studies Strategic Perspectives, No. 35 Series Editor: Denise Natali National Defense University Press Washington, D.C. June 2021 Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Defense Department or any other agency of the Federal Government.
  • Saudi Arabia Page 1 of 18

    Saudi Arabia Page 1 of 18

    Saudi Arabia Page 1 of 18 Published on Freedom House (https://freedomhouse.org) Home > Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Country: Saudi Arabia Year: 2015 Status: Not Free Total Score: 73 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Obstacles to Access: 15 (0 = Best, 25 = Worst) Limits on Content: 24 (0 = Best, 35 = Worst) Violations of User Rights: 34 (0 = Best, 40 = Worst) Population: 30.8 million Internet Penetration: 64 percent Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: Yes Political/Social Content Blocked: Yes Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Press Freedom Status: Not Free Key Developments: https://freedomhouse.org/print/47723 12/8/2016 Saudi Arabia Page 2 of 18 June 2014–May 2015 • The Saudi television channel Rotana ordered Google to take down a video of the satirical YouTube show “Fitnah” on copyright grounds, after the show had used footage from Rotana to criticize its owner, Prince Waleed bin Talal. The video was later restored by YouTube (see Content Removal). • Human rights activists Waleed Abu al-Khair and Fowzan al-Harbi have had their prison sentences extended to 15 and 10 years, respectively, upon appeals by the public prosecutor (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). • Raif Badawi, who co-founded the website Saudi Arabia Liberals, had his 10-year sentence suspended and later upheld by the Supreme Court and received the first set of 50 lashes in January. He was sentenced to a total 1,000 lashes, to be carried out in public (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). • During a funeral for the victims of an attack by Islamic State (IS) militants on a Shiite mosque, political activist Waleed Sulais was beaten by two men who accused him of insulting them on social networks (see Intimidation and Violence).
  • The Interaction Between Politics and Popular Culture at the End of Wars

    The Interaction Between Politics and Popular Culture at the End of Wars

    Conflict, Culture, Closure: The interaction between politics and popular culture at the end of wars Cahir O’Doherty A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Geography, Politics and Sociology Newcastle University August 2019 ii Abstract In this thesis I engage with the topic of how popular culture and politics interact at the end of conflict. Using contemporary Hollywood action cinema from 2000 to 2014 and political speeches from the Bush and Obama administrations, I pose the question of how do these seemingly disparate fields forge intense connections between and through each other in order to create conditions of success in the War on Terror. I utilise the end of wars assemblage to argue that through intense and affective encounters between cinema screen and audiences, certain conditions of success emerge from the assemblage. These conditions include American exceptionalism and the values it exemplifies; the use of technology in warfare as co-productive of moral subjectivities; the necessity of sacrifice; and the centrality of the urban landscape and built environment. I then proceed to assess the resilience of the end of wars assemblage and its conditions of success by engaging with cinematic and political artefacts that have the potential to destabilise the assemblage through genre inversion and alternative temporalities. Ultimately, I argue that the assemblage and its conditions of success are strongly resilient to change and critique. The conditions of success that emerge from the assemblage through intense affective encounters can then be politically deployed make a claim that a war has ended or will end. Because audiences have been pre-primed to connect these conditions to victory, such a claim has greater persuasive power.
  • Saudi Arabia-China Relations: a Brave Friendship Or Useful Leverage? Yoel Guzansky and Galia Lavi

    Saudi Arabia-China Relations: a Brave Friendship Or Useful Leverage? Yoel Guzansky and Galia Lavi

    ResearchPolicy Analysis Forum Reuters / Lintao Zhang / POOL Saudi Arabia-China Relations: A Brave Friendship or Useful Leverage? Yoel Guzansky and Galia Lavi “China is not necessarily a better friend than the US, but it is a less complicated friend.” Prince Turki al-Faisal Riyadh and Beijing are deepening their economic ties and expanding them in other areas as well. Overall, Saudi-Chinese relations enjoy relative stability but remain limited, inter alia due to China’s lack of interest in deeper involvement in the Middle East at the present time. Aware of Washington’s sensitivities, Riyadh and Beijing do not want to invite pressure from the United States. Saudi Arabia understands that there is no good alternative to the US security guarantees at the present time, but doubts about the credibility of Washington’s political commitment in the long term persist. Moreover, in Riyadh’s view, relations with China can complement its relations with Washington in certain respects, and may even serve as potential leverage over Washington. Keywords: Saudi Arabia, China, United States, Iran, Israel, Pakistan Yoel Guzansky and Galia Lavi | Saudi Arabia-China Relations: A Brave Friendship or Useful Leverage? 109 Introduction Geopolitical Interests With the exception of energy security, the Middle In China’s view, relations with the Gulf states East has long been mostly peripheral to China’s serve diverse interests, first and foremost overall map of interests. However, under the energy security and economic growth. China leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, a has publicly expressed its concern about the greater emphasis has been placed on the region friction between the Gulf states and Iran, and in general and the Gulf in particular, an emphasis among the Gulf states themselves, given that that goes beyond purely economic interests.
  • Corporate and Foreign Interests Behind White House Push to Transfer U.S

    Corporate and Foreign Interests Behind White House Push to Transfer U.S

    Corporate and Foreign Interests Behind White House Push to Transfer U.S. Nuclear Technology to Saudi Arabia Prepared for Chairman Elijah E. Cummings Second Interim Staff Report Committee on Oversight and Reform U.S. House of Representatives July 2019 oversight.house.gov EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On February 19, 2019, the Committee on Oversight and Reform issued an interim staff report prepared for Chairman Elijah E. Cummings after multiple whistleblowers came forward to warn about efforts inside the White House to rush the transfer of U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. As explained in the first interim staff report, under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act, the United States may not transfer nuclear technology to a foreign country without the approval of Congress in order to ensure that the agreement meets nine nonproliferation requirements to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. These agreements, commonly known as “123 Agreements,” are typically negotiated with career experts at the National Security Council (NSC) and the Departments of State, Defense, and Energy. The “Gold Standard” for 123 Agreements is a commitment by the foreign country not to enrich or re-process nuclear fuel and not to engage in activities linked to the risk of nuclear proliferation. During the Obama Administration, Saudi Arabia refused to agree to the Gold Standard. During the Trump Administration, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) went further, proclaiming: “Without a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible.” There is strong bipartisan opposition to abandoning the “Gold Standard” for Saudi Arabia in any future 123 Agreement.
  • 2020 Sundance Film Festival: 118 Feature Films Announced

    2020 Sundance Film Festival: 118 Feature Films Announced

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: December 4, 2019 Spencer Alcorn 310.360.1981 [email protected] 2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: 118 FEATURE FILMS ANNOUNCED Drawn From a Record High of 15,100 Submissions Across The Program, Including 3,853 Features, Selected Films Represent 27 Countries Once Upon A Time in Venezuela, photo by John Marquez; The Mountains Are a Dream That Call to Me, photo by Jake Magee; Bloody ​ ​ ​ ​ Nose, Empty Pockets, courtesy of Sundance Institute; Beast Beast, photo by Kristian Zuniga; I Carry You With Me, photo by Alejandro ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ López; Ema, courtesy of Sundance Institute. ​ ​ Park City, UT — The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the showcase of new independent feature ​ films selected across all categories for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The Festival hosts screenings in Park ​ ​ City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort, from January 23–February 2, 2020. The Sundance Film Festival is Sundance Institute’s flagship public program, widely regarded as the largest American independent film festival and attended by more than 120,000 people and 1,300 accredited press, and powered by more than 2,000 volunteers last year. Sundance Institute also presents public programs throughout the year and around the world, including Festivals in Hong Kong and London, an international short film tour, an indigenous shorts program, a free summer screening series in Utah, and more. Alongside these public programs, the majority of the nonprofit Institute's resources ​ support independent artists around the world as they make and develop new work, via Labs, direct grants, fellowships, residencies and other strategic and tactical interventions.