The Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, invited by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to the G7 in Borgo Egnazia and confirmed on the list of participants until Friday 7 June, has refused to appear in Puglia, thus escaping a request for arrest against him for torture and murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi. This was revealed by the association ‘There is no peace without justice’ (NPWJ) during a press conference on the sidelines of the G7 work.
Accused in 2019 by the UN of being the instigator of the murder of the Saudi WP journalist – an accusation also relaunched by US intelligence in a report declassified by the Biden administration -, bin Salman was reported to the Rome Prosecutor’s Office by NPWJ, on basis of international jurisdiction, for crimes of torture on 4 June, when the media reported his name on the list of invitees to the G7. A complaint that could have turned into arrest if the Saudi crown prince had set foot on Italian territory.
“His participation suddenly disappeared on Tuesday 11 June” from the list of leaders expected in Puglia, pointed out the lawyer Fabio Maria Galiani speaking to reporters. At the last minute Bin Salman declined the invitation, explaining that he was unable to attend the summit due to commitments related to the supervision of the traditional holiday of the Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, which began this year on the work of the summit of the Greats of the Earth.
“The announced arrival of Mbs in Italy was a very serious thing for us because his direct responsibility for Khashoggi’s murder is emblematic of the type of bloody regime he established”, explained the general secretary of NPWJ, Niccolò Figà -Talamanca. “It’s about respecting not only human rights: there is no special permission to tear people apart as Saudi princes, and there is no special permission to interfere in the judicial process because the G7 is there.”
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA
