France is launching an investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after a French appeals court declared complaints by human rights organizations admissible, France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office said on Saturday, quoted by "Reuters".
The investigation will cover allegations of torture and enforced disappearance. It follows a May 11 ruling by the Paris Court of Appeal, which accepted the complaints filed by the human rights organizations TRIAL International and Reporters Without Borders.
The prosecutor's office specified that a separate complaint filed by the organization DAWN - Khashoggi's employer - was declared inadmissible.
Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. According to US intelligence, the operation was ordered by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The crown prince denies ordering the killing, but admits that it took place "under his supervision."
The French investigation opens a new legal front in the case, which has so far seen limited judicial development. In 2022, a Turkish court dropped the case against 26 Saudi suspects and transferred the case to Saudi Arabia, a decision that drew sharp criticism from human rights groups.
In the United States, President Joe Biden's administration granted immunity to Mohammed bin Salman after he was appointed prime minister, leading to the dismissal of a civil lawsuit filed by Khashoggi's fiancée.
French law allows judges to open investigations into serious crimes committed outside the country, although charges usually require suspects to be on French territory.
Saudi authorities have not yet commented on the case.