Agencies: The U.S. Department of Justice said in a court document on Thursday that the administration of President Joe Biden concluded that the Saudi Crown Prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has legal immunity from prosecution in a lawsuit filed against him in the case of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to "Reuters".

Khashoggi, who used to write opinion articles in The Washington Post and criticized the Saudi authorities, was killed on October 2, 2018, and his body parts were dismembered in his country's consulate, in a crime that sparked an overwhelming wave of anger in Washington and beyond.

Last year, U.S. President Joe Biden declassified an intelligence report that suggested bin Salman may have given the green light for the operation against Khashoggi, which the Saudi authorities deny, according to "AFP".

On September 27, Prince Mohammed, who previously held the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, was appointed Prime Minister by royal decree, raising concerns among human rights activists that the appointment would protect the young prince from the consequences of any cases before foreign courts.

Lawyers of the Saudi Crown Prince considered that his appointment as Prime Minister qualifies him for immunity from lawsuits in U.S. courts, including the case related to Khashoggi's murder, according to "AFP".

The Crown Prince’s lawyers said in a petition to the U.S. federal court in Washington requesting dismissal of the lawsuit, citing other cases in which the United States recognized the immunity of foreign heads of state, "The royal decree leaves no room for doubt that the Crown Prince is entitled to immunity based on his position."

The court asked the U.S. Department of Justice to give its opinion on Prince Mohammed’s immunity status and set October 3 as the deadline for a response.

The Department of Justice said, after Prince Mohammed’s appointment as Prime Minister, that it requested a 45-day extension to prepare its response to the court "in light of those changing circumstances," according to Reuters.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s legal cases in U.S. courts extend beyond the Khashoggi case; his name also appeared in a lawsuit filed by Saad al-Jabri, the former intelligence official, who accused him of attempting to lure him back to the Kingdom from Canada, and claimed that the Crown Prince "sent an assassination squad" to kill him on Canadian soil.

However, a judge requested the dismissal of the case, saying that his court has no jurisdiction over all the defendants listed in al-Jabri’s lawsuit.