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22-02-2026
LONDON/ WASHINGTON: The arrest of former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has sparked renewed calls for accountability for Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and proper investigations into the late sex offender’s networks in the United States and across the world.
Police in the United Kingdom detained the ex-prince, brother of King Charles, on Thursday, with authorities saying that they had opened an investigation into possible misconduct in public office without naming Mountbatten-Windsor.
Reem Alsalem, the United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, said the arrest sends “an important message that nobody is above the law, irrespective of your wealth, your connections even if you’re royalty”.
“At the same time, it’s important that we examine the involvement of anyone that has enabled, facilitated, the crimes committed by the Epstein criminal enterprise,” Alsalem told media.
She stressed the need for independent investigations into individuals and institutions who may have been involved in Epstein’s crimes.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest came weeks after the latest release of US government documents related to the sex abuse case, which showed deep ties between the former duke of York and Epstein.
Some exchanges suggested that Mountbatten-Windsor, who previously served as the UK’s trade envoy, shared government information with Epstein.
Millions of files related to Epstein have been released by the US government over the past two months after Congress passed a law compelling the administration of President Donald Trump to make the documents public.
The files, which included emails and text messages, showed that the disgraced financier, whom authorities say died of suicide while in jail in 2019, maintained friendships and business relations with rich and powerful people across the world.
Some documents and photos suggested that some of Epstein’s associates participated in, or at least were aware of, his sex abuse ring.
One picture showed Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over a female victim who was lying flat on the floor.
The former prince has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s sex crimes.
Calls for justice
On Thursday, US Congressman Thomas Massie, one of the leading legislators who pushed for the release of the files, called on FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi to act and bring people involved in Epstein’s sex abuse to justice.
“Now we need JUSTICE in the United States,” Massie said, commenting on the arrest of Mountbatten-Windsor.
The Republican congressman shared a video of comments he made on the House floor last year during a debate on the Epstein files bill.
“How will we know if this bill has been successful? We will know when there are men rich men in handcuffs being perp-walked to the jail,” Massie said in his speech. “And until then, this is still a cover-up.”
Over the years, Epstein built a network of hundreds of girls and young women for sexual exploitation. Many of the victims were made to travel around with him and stay at his private island in the Caribbean but the Trump administration has all but ruled out further charges in the case.
Last year, before the release of the documents, the US Department of Justice denied that Epstein had a “client list” of powerful people to whom he trafficked his sex abuse victims. (Int’l News Desk)
