Maeve Higgins: Why is a Saudi prince being fawned over as journalists die?

What does it mean when a state murders a journalist, and other states accept this and move along with the business of the day?

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets US President Joe Biden with a fist bump after his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last month. Picture: Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP

By all accounts, except his own, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Watching Mohammed bin Salman smirk and fistbump and backslap his way around various world leaders these past weeks has been grotesque. The UN Human Rights Council investigated and concluded that “there is no indication under international law that this crime could be qualified under any other way but as a state killing”.