Defending its decision to grant immunity to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a US State Department spokesperson said on Friday that it afforded similar protection from prosecution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. The Saudi crown prince is an accused in the murder of Khashoggi, a dissident and a journalist, in Istanbul in 2018.
At a briefing, when asked about the immunity granted to the crown prince over Khashoggi's killing, US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said PM Modi and some other leaders have, over the years, received similar protection. "This is not the first time that the United States has done this. It is a longstanding and consistent line of effort. It has been applied to a number of heads of state previously," Patel said.
"Some examples: President (Jean-Bernard) Aristide in Haiti in 1993, President (Robert) Mugabe in Zimbabwe in 2001, Prime Minister Modi in India in 2014, and President (Joseph) Kabila in the DRC in 2018. This is a consistent practice that we have afforded to heads of state, heads of government, and foreign ministers," he said. India is yet to comment on the remarks.
The US in 2005 placed Modi on a visa ban over allegations that his government failed in its duty to stop the 2002 riots in Gujarat when he was the state's chief minister. While the United Kingdom and, subsequently, the European Union ended their respective boycotts of Modi by 2013, the US maintained that there was "no change in its policy" until he was elected the PM in May 2014.
The Supreme Court has cleared the PM of all allegations of wrongdoing in the 2002 riots.
Published 19 November 2022, 16:00 IST