- Paul Kirby
- BBC News
2 hours ago
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to France has angered rights groups, as the prince seeks to rehabilitate himself after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A working dinner with President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday came amid a sharp rise in energy prices.
The prince denies agreeing to the assassination of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey.
Khashoggi’s fiancée expressed her anger at bin Salman’s visit to France. Hatice Cengiz accused Macron of receiving “the executioner of her late partner with open arms.”
Bin Salman flew to Orly Airport, south of Paris, the night before the talks and stayed at a luxurious palace in Louvigne, west of Paris.
Emad Khashoggi, the murdered journalist’s cousin, designed the Louis XIV Palace in honor of the so-called Sun King who ruled France in the 17th century.
Hours before the two men met at the Elysee Palace, three groups filed a criminal case accusing bin Salman of complicity in the torture and murder of Khashoggi.
photo released, Getty Images
The crown prince resided just outside Paris in a lavish mansion designed by the murdered journalist’s cousin
Among the plaintiffs was the Democracy in the Arab World Now (Fajr) party, which argued that bin Salman did not enjoy immunity from prosecution, because he is not a head of state, and France is one of the only possible places for justice to be served.
Without ensuring “strong and concrete commitments” on rights, Macron risks rehabilitating bin Salman and “whitening” his image, Benedict Gainerud of Human Rights Watch said.
Ahead of the meeting, an aide to the French president promised to highlight the issue of human rights “in general”, but said it was important to talk with all France’s partners to solve the problems faced by all of Europe.
After Khashoggi’s murder, the two men met in the Saudi city of Jeddah last December.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said she did not think the French people would understand this if their president did not speak to the world’s energy producers when tensions over prices are high, and “Russia is cutting off gas supplies and threatening to cut them and then cut them again.”
photo released, Archyde.com
The Russian invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring, and President Macron urged Saudi Arabia to increase oil production.
The OPEC+ oil-producing group, which includes Russia, meets next week, and its members are under pressure to help ease the crisis.
US President Joe Biden was photographed shaking hands with the prince during a visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, with the aim of rebuilding relations.
The prince has always denied involvement in the Khashoggi murder, and Saudi prosecutors have blamed “rogue” Saudi agents.
US intelligence agencies said he approved the operation. A UN investigation concluded that Riyadh was responsible for the extrajudicial killing.