Washington DC - A DC judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Judge John Bates spoke of his "uneasiness" over the decision, but said he had to follow the US Justice Department's recent recommendation that bin Salman be given sovereign immunity.

Bates' unease was due not only to "credible allegations" of the prince's involvement in Khashoggi's murder, the judge wrote, but also to the timing of bin Salman's appointment as prime minister of Saudi Arabia, a move that the DOJ cited in its immunity advice.

The case was brought by Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who has accused President Joe Biden of saving the "murderer" and "criminal" bin Salman by granting him immunity.

The crown prince has been blamed by US intelligence for ordering the murder of Khashoggi. Bin Salman denies having authorized the crime, but it led to him becoming internationally isolated for a while.

While campaigning for the presidency in 2020 Biden pledged to make Saudi Arabia "a pariah" as punishment for the assassination.

He since mostly reversed course in his eagerness to secure US oil interests.