French judge opens inquiry into Khashoggi killing

PARIS, May 16 (Reuters) – A French judge has been appointed to lead an inquiry over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the country’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office (PNAT) said on Saturday, after a court ruled the case admissible.

The probe, covering charges of torture and enforced disappearance, follows a May 11 ruling by the Paris Court of Appeal that deemed complaints filed by human rights groups TRIAL International and Reporters Without Borders admissible, PNAT said.

A separate complaint filed by DAWN, Khashoggi’s employer, was ruled inadmissible, the PNAT added.

Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, in an operation that U.S. intelligence believed was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The crown prince has denied ordering the killing but acknowledged it took place “under my watch.”

The French inquiry adds a new legal front in a case that has seen limited judicial follow-up to date.

A Turkish court halted its own trial of 26 Saudi suspects in 2022 and transferred the case to Saudi Arabia, a ruling that drew condemnation from rights groups.

In the United States, the Biden administration granted bin Salman immunity after his appointment as prime minister, leading a federal court to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by Khashoggi’s fiancée.

French law allows judges to open inquiries into certain serious crimes committed abroad, although prosecutions generally require suspects to be present on French territory.

The Saudi government media office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Jean-Stephane Brosse and Mathieu Rosemain, Editing by Louise Heavens)