Saudi Arabia detains three senior members of royal family, including King Salman’s brother, over ‘coup plot’
Riyadh: In a fresh crackdown, Saudi authorities have detained three senior members of the royal family, including King Salman’s brother and nephew on charges of plotting a coup.
The detentions have been linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who is considered the de facto ruler of the kingdom.
In 2017 dozens of prominent clerics and activists as well as princes and business elites were confined to the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh after the crown prince ordered their arrests.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, a brother of King Salman, and the monarch’s nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef were accused of treason and taken from their homes early Friday by black-clad royal guards.
The Saudi royal court has accused the two men, once potential contenders for the throne, of “plotting a coup to unseat the king and the crown prince” and could face life imprisonment or execution, the newspaper said.
Saudi authorities have not commented on the detentions yet.
The detentions mark the latest crackdown by Mohammed bin Salman to consolidate his position. Prince Ahmed bin Abdelaziz is one of the last surviving sons of the country’s founder, King Abdelaziz, and widely respected amongst older members of the ruling family.
The development comes amid Saudi Arabia has restricted access to Islam’s holiest sites in a highly sensitive move to contain the deadly coronavirus. The government announced had earlier on Wednesday announced a ban on all pilgrimages to Mecca.
The killing of Jamal Khashoggi
The crown prince faced widespread condemnation over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered inside the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October 2018.
Khashoggi was murdered by the agents of the Saudi government, who later dismembered his body, which has never been found. Saudi Arabia charged 11 people in the slaying and put them on trial, which has been held in secret.
A UN report had asserted that Saudi Arabia bore responsibility for the killing and said Prince Mohammed’s possible role in it should be investigated.
Mohammed bin Salman has denied his involvement in the killing of the Saudi journalist.
