Saudi Arabia detains king's brother, nephew in crackdown: Reports

[ejaz007]

Saudi Arabia detains king's brother, nephew in crackdown: Reports
Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, the king's younger brother, and Mohammed bin Nayef, the king's nephew, accused of coup plot.

35 minutes ago

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Saudi Arabia has detained two senior members of the royal family - Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, the younger brother of King Salman, and Mohammed bin Nayef, the king's nephew, according to reports citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

The Wall Street Journal reported the detentions of the two royals on Friday and said they related to an alleged coup attempt. Bloomberg also reported the detentions late on Friday. There was no immediate comment by Saudi authorities.

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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, King Salman's son and the de facto ruler of the kingdom, has moved to consolidate power since replacing his cousin, Mohammed bin Nayef, as heir to the throne in 2017. He arrested several royals in an anti-corruption campaign later that year.

Prince Mohammed, also known as MBS, has fuelled resentment among some prominent branches of the ruling family by tightening his grip on power and some question his ability to lead following the 2018 murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents and a major attack on Saudi oil infrastructure last year, sources have told Reuters news agency.

The detentions of the two royals were reported late on Friday [File: Fahad Shadeed/Reuters]
The sources said royals seeking to change the line of succession view Prince Ahmed, King Salman's only surviving full brother, as a possible choice who would have support of family members, the security apparatus and some Western powers.

Saudi insiders and Western diplomats say the family is unlikely to oppose the crown prince while the 84-year-old king remains alive, recognising that he is unlikely to turn against his favourite son.

The monarch has delegated most responsibilities of rule to his son but still presides over weekly cabinet meetings and receives foreign dignitaries.

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, commenting from Doha, said the detentions were of "huge" significance.

"We are talking about two of the most senior members of the Saudi royal family," he said.

"What's prompted it is very difficult to ascertain, needless to say because Saudis have a closed culture in terms of transparency and no media freedom.

"But these are two figures who have been under house arrest. They haven't been able to move freely for a very long time. The idea that they were trying to hatch some sort of coup is very far-fetched and difficult to see when considering the restraints they were under."

UPFRONT: Khashoggi murder - Western powers are 'sending the wrong message' (9:43)
Prince Ahmed has largely kept a low profile since returning to Riyadh in October 2018 after two and a half months abroad. During the trip, he appeared to criticise the Saudi leadership while responding to protesters outside a London residence chanting for the downfall of the Al Saud dynasty.

He was one of only three people on the Allegiance Council, made up of the ruling Al Saud family's senior members, who opposed Mohammed bin Salman becoming crown prince in June 2017, sources earlier said.

Mohammed bin Nayef's movements have reportedly been restricted and monitored since then.

The latest detentions come at a time of heightened tension with regional rival Iran and as Prince Mohammed implements ambitious social and economic reforms, including an initial public offering by oil giant Saudi Aramco on the domestic bourse last December.

Saudi Arabia is also the current chair for the Group of 20 (G20) major economies.

MBS has been lauded at home for easing social restrictions in the kingdom and opening up the economy.

But he has come under international criticism over a devastating war in Yemen, the murder of Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate and the detention of women's rights activists seen as part of a crackdown on dissent.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...-nephew-crackdown-report-200307044407462.html

 

[Sineva]

A possible power grab in saudi perhaps?
Not to surprising after all of MBS repeated fvck ups.

 

[Morpheus]

The King must be very ill, and this is just steps taken to solidify MBS as the next King, when the current King passes away. With both of these out of the way, there won't be anyone to challenge MBS rule.

 

[Wa Muhammada]

Israel (through its Satelite state the US) is fully behind MBS. At last they have found a member of the Saud who is willing to stoop lower than his predecessors in pleasing their masters

 

[bafxet]

That's not the Saudi Arabia I know. The king his aids were never as tyrant as they r now.

 

[BATMAN]

HolyMoly.
So what should be the next step by Imran Khan? Should he go and negotiate release?

 

[ArsalanKhan21]

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and President-For-Life Xi Jinping of China both are taking their countries in the wrong direction by pushing aggressive domestic and external policies.

 

[ejaz007]

Saudi crackdown widens amid reports of further arrests of royals
No official comment by Saudi Arabia as reports say authorities broaden crackdown after detention of two senior royals.

10 hours ago

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A roundup of royals and aides has widened in Saudi Arabia, according to several reports, in what is believed to be the latest crackdown by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the kingdom's de facto ruler, against potential challengers to his power.

On Saturday, a day after it was reported two senior members of the royal family were detained over an alleged coup plot, US media outlets said Prince Nayef bin Ahmed, a former army head of intelligence, was also among those being held.

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Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday the sweep broadened to include dozens of interior ministry officials, senior army officers and others suspected of supporting a coup attempt.

It came a day after the Journal cited sources familiar with the matter as saying masked guards with the royal court on Friday arrested Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, a younger brother of King Salman, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the king's nephew and a former crown prince. The guards also detained a brother of Mohammed bin Nayef.

Is Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince consolidating power?


There has been no official comment from Saudi authorities on the arrests.

"There are some kinds of rumours and innuendos that there's turmoil within the family in the form of criticism, but that doesn't justify being arrested as criminals, with masked security forces coming to their rooms and yanking them out of their private residences," Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab Center in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera.

The arrests of the king's younger and beloved brother Prince Ahmed and the king's nephew and former counterterrorism czar Prince Mohammed came after what one person in Saudi Arabia with knowledge of the situation described as an accumulation of behaviour that was provocative to the leadership.

The source added the arrests sent a message to anyone in the royal family feeling disenfranchised: Stop grumbling and toe the line, because if Prince Ahmed can be arrested, any prince can and will be.

The detentions also raised speculation about the health of 84-year-old King Salman and whether MBS's succession to the throne was imminent, but on Sunday the official Saudi Press Agency released images of the king presiding over the swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed Saudi ambassadors to Ukraine and Uruguay.

The Middle East Eye quoted sources as saying on Sunday the arrests were meant to ease the transition of power so Prince Mohammed can become king ahead of the November G20 meeting, which will be held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

"He wants to be sure while his father is there he becomes the king," one source told the online news site.

The sources also said MBS is concerned US President Donald Trump may not be re-elected with all Democratic candidates being critics of the crown prince.

UPFRONT: Khashoggi murder - Western powers are 'sending the wrong message' (9:43)
Consolidating reign
A son of King Salman, MBS has moved to consolidate power since replacing his cousin, Mohammed bin Nayef, as heir to the throne in 2017.

Later that year, dozens of senior members of the royal family and billionaire businessmen were rounded up and detained at a luxury hotel in the capital, Riyadh, in what the Saudi government described as being part of an anti-corruption drive.

Separately, rights groups have denounced the detention of hundreds of activists, including women's rights campaigners, amid growing criticism over the kingdom's human rights record, including the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a team of Saudi agents and the devastating war in Yemen.

"He's not worried about people trying to make a coup," Rami Khouri, a journalism professor at the American University of Beirut, said of Crown Prince Mohammed.

"He doesn't want any independent voices that don't agree with him," added Khouri, pointing to reports suggesting Prince Ahmed was one of only three people on the Allegiance Council, made up of the ruling Al Saud family's senior members, who opposed MBS becoming crown prince in 2017.

In late 2018, a video emerged of Prince Ahmed facing protesters outside his London residence and in which he seemed to criticise King Salman and MBS for the war in Yemen, described by the United Nations as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

"Don't blame the entire family... Those responsible are the king and his crown prince," he said at the time. "In Yemen and elsewhere, our hope is that the war ends today before tomorrow."

Though Prince Ahmed quickly retracted his comments, insisting his words were taken out of context, messages of support and pledges of allegiance began pouring in.

The 78-year-old also issued a statement to deny speculation that he was interested in the role of the monarch, and has largely kept a low profile since returning to Riyadh in October 2018 after two and a half months abroad.

'Not in a vacuum'
Both Prince Ahmed and Mohammed bin Nayef were seen as possible rivals for the throne when King Salman dies, with reports suggesting they now face long-term imprisonment.

Simon Mabon, a senior lecturer in international studies at Lancaster University, said even though the reasons behind the arrests were not clear, they did not happen "in a vacuum".

"There have been a range of other things going on inside the kingdom, predominantly the long-standing efforts of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to seize power and to ensure that he has no form of internal or external descent," he told Al Jazeera.

"What we saw with the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and this latest round of purges against his rule and against the legacy that he is trying to create for himself for the next 50 years or so as he becomes king."

Khouri said the idea of a coup being fomented was unlikely in light of the "immense, direct and brutal control" that MBS has over all of the kingdom's security agencies.

"It is a sign of the nervousness of the crown prince and the people around him who rule Saudi Arabia because they probably expect that the king will either abdicate or pass away soon," he added.

"They expect there might be some kind of challenge to the succession."

Saudi crackdown: King Salman's brother and nephew detained (4:30)
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...s-reports-arrests-royals-200308102158401.html

 

[Aasimkhan]

Bhai what is the latest ?

 

[ejaz007]

Profile: King Salman's youngest brother, Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz
Prince Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz, who belongs to influential Sudairi wing of royal family, has reportedly been detained.

an hour ago

Prince Ahmed is the Saudi king's younger brother [File: AP Photo]
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Prince Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the only surviving full brother of Saudi Arabia's King Salman, has been detained, according to several reports, in what is widely believed to be an attempt by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) to consolidate power within the royal family.

Prince Ahmed was detained on Friday as part of a security clampdown that also included the detention of Mohamed bin Nayef, the king's nephew and former interior minister and crown prince, several US publications reported. Both senior royals were seen as possible alternatives to MBS, the kingdom's de facto ruler in succeeding 84-year-old King Salman.

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According to the Wall Street Journal newspaper, Prince Ahmed and Mohammed bin Nayef were accused of plotting a coup to unseat the king and his son, MBS. By Saturday, reports points that the sweep had broadened to include dozens of interior ministry officials, senior army officers and others suspected of supporting a coup attempt.

There has been no official comment from Saudi authorities on the arrests.

Who is Prince Ahmed?
Prince Ahmed is one of the most senior members of the ruling Al Saud family.

He and his older brother are the last remaining members of the powerful "Sudairi seven", a bloc comprised of the seven sons of King Abdul Aziz - considered the kingdom's modern founder - and his favourite wife, Hussa bint Ahmed al-Sudairi.

The brothers banded together to largely ensure the throne and important ministries passed between them and stayed out of the reach of the king's dozens of other sons. They include former King Fahd, who ruled the country from 1982 until 2005, Prince Sultan who served as defence minister for almost half a century before becoming crown prince to King Abdullah in 2005, as well as the current king.

Born in the early 1940s, Prince Ahmed received his formal education in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. He later headed to the United States where he obtained a degree in political science from the California-based University of Redlands in 1968.

Prince Ahmed served as deputy interior minister for decades and was named interior minister in June 2012. But he abruptly stepped down after less than five months in the role and was replaced by Mohammed bin Nayef, the other high-profile detainee.

READ MORE
Saudi Arabia detains king's brother, nephew in crackdown: Reports
For several years, Prince Ahmed was also responsible for overseeing the administration of the holy sites in Mecca and Medina for several years.

As the youngest of the seven Sudairi brothers, Prince Ahmed had been seen in the past as a potential future ruler but was sidestepped from the throne's arrangement at least twice.

Still, Prince Ahmed wielded official influence as a member of the Beya, or Allegiance Council, the body of senior royals which has to approve the accession to the throne of the next successor.

In 2017, he was one of three members on the Allegiance Council who opposed the young MBS becoming the first in line to the throne and sidelining more senior princes, according to several media reports.

Prince Ahmed left Saudi Arabia in November 2017 before a far-reaching campaign of arrests of royals, top officials and business elites, in what was billed as an attempt to combat corruption among the higher echelons of the kingdom's bureaucracy. Those arrested were locked up for weeks in the luxurious Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh.

Saudi crackdown: King Salman's brother and nephew detained (4:30)
Prince Ahmed flew back to the kingdom from London in October 2018, after reportedly receiving assurances that he would not be detained.

While in London, Prince Ahmed appeared to publicly oppose MBS's military campaign in Yemen, which he launched in 2015 when Saudi Arabia formed a coalition with other Arab states to defeat the Houthi rebels.

A nearly two-minute video shared online in September 2018 showed Prince Ahmed purportedly challenging demonstrators protesting against the kingdom's role in the devastating war in Yemen why they were complaining to him instead of the king and crown prince.

Walking over to them, the prince asked the protesters outside his London home not to lump the whole of the royal family into one.

"What does the whole of the Al Saud family have to do with this? There are certain individuals who are responsible. Don't involve anyone else."

When asked by a demonstrator who was responsible for the war, Prince Ahmed responded: "The king and the crown prince, and others in the state."

He also said he hoped that wars in Yemen and elsewhere would stop as soon as possible.

Shortly afterwards, Prince Ahmed issued a brief official statement saying that his comments were taken out of context and intended to clarify that "the king and crown prince are responsible for the state and its decisions".

Upon his return, Prince Ahmed has reportedly retained his allowance and been treated with respect, but has kept a low profile since.

According to Ali al-Ahmed, director of the Gulf Affairs Institute and a former Saudi political prisoner, Prince Ahmed, "did not have a real shot" of becoming a king and returned "because he did not have ambition".

He argued that the detention was a "precautionary" measure and was not part of the alleged plot.

INSIDE STORY I Is Saudi Arabia's crown prince consolidating power? (24:51)

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...her-ahmed-bin-abdul-aziz-200308205252897.html

 

[Foxtrot Delta]

These saudi sunatics will start killing each other for power soon mark my words.

 

[ejaz007]

Analysis: There is a perfect storm brewing in Saudi Arabia
Saudi royals and officials have been arrested in what appears to be an effort by MBS to consolidate power. But why now?

by Simon Mabon
14 hours ago

Mohammed bin Salman at the 40th Gulf Cooperation Council annual summit in Riyadh in December 2019 [File: Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Kingdom Council/Handout]
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As masked police entered the homes of three prominent Saudi princes in the early hours of Saturday morning, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), Saudi Arabia's crown prince, appeared to have removed the final vestiges of opposition to his rule, paving the way for a seemingly smooth transition to becoming king.

Princes Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, King Salman's brother, Mohammed bin Nayef, the former crown prince, and Nawaf bin Nayef were arrested amid allegations of their involvement in an attempted coup.

Rumours of plans to topple both the king and the crown prince have regularly been heard across social media, replete with stories of nefarious meetings in the desert and the support of external powers. In this instance, additional rumours of broader complicity quickly followed in key US newspapers, albeit without comment from official Saudi sources.

The decision to make these arrests has been met with surprise by some who have questioned why and why now.

Why?
Two separate issues are at play here. First is the sense of a crown prince on a mission to eradicate all forms of dissent and to ensure a smooth transition to becoming king. In line with this, the arrests sent a strong message to critics within the kingdom, consolidating power and calling on members of the ruling family to "fall in line" behind the "son king".

Arresting three prominent members of the house of Saud is a symbolic demonstration of power from the crown prince. Indeed, in arresting Mohammed bin Nayef, the former crown prince, MBS is sending a clear message to those across the kingdom that opposition will not be tolerated.

Prince Ahmed, the king's brother, had recently returned from London and had allegedly been given guarantees of his safety on moving back to Saudi Arabia. While in London, Ahmed appeared to court controversy when he seemed to suggest that the king and crown prince, rather than the Al Saud family more generally, ought to be held responsible for the kingdom's military exploits in Yemen. According to those familiar with his situation after his return, Ahmed was treated with respect, albeit with his movements and communications heavily monitored.

Mohammed bin Nayef, in contrast, has been placed under house arrest for the duration of MBS's time as crown prince. In light of this, it seems unlikely he would have been involved in an attempted coup, particularly given the challenges of orchestrating such an event against a deeply powerful scion.

Since being named crown prince, MBS has wielded almost complete power across the Saudi state. Ostensibly heir apparent, it is widely accepted that he is sovereign in all but name, setting policy domestically and internationally, much to the chagrin of some.

As a result, it is hardly surprising that stories of coup plots find traction. The transition from the sons of Ibn Saud, the first king and founder of Saudi Arabia, to the grandsons of Ibn Saud was always going to pose serious challenges to monarchical rule across the kingdom.

Indeed, the peculiarities of succession in the kingdom, passing from brother to brother - a process of agnatic seniority designed to facilitate stability and prevent turmoil within the family resulting from one group dominating at the expense of others - meant that political horsetrading became a key part of succession planning.

When King Salman came to power in 2015, the need to explicitly articulate this process was evident and while Mohammed bin Nayef was initially named as crown prince - and thus the first of the next generation of Saudi rulers - he was quickly replaced by Salman's son, MBS, in 2017.

This decision was not unanimous. In the Allegiance Council, responsible for succession planning, Prince Ahmed was one of the three who voted against the appointment of MBS as crown prince.

Why now?
The second issue concerns the timing. Facing a range of parabolic pressures from domestic and international sources, the Saudi state is in a precarious position, with much at stake for MBS, the architect of the kingdom's future trajectory.

Hugely popular among the youth, the crown prince quickly embarked on a wide-ranging programme of social, cultural and economic reforms that have sought to transform the kingdom away from a reliance on oil and to reduce the power of religious leaders.

However, the speed of transformation has been a source of anger among the more socially conservative elements of society, in a similar vein to that experienced by his grandfather, Ibn Saud, whose own efforts to transform the political landscape of the nascent Saudi state were met with resistance by many almost a century ago.

In spite of the support he undoubtedly has, there is a growing sense of unrest across the kingdom and concern at its future trajectory. Economic pressures are rising and while new entertainment complexes have been supported by state-sanctioned credit, the cost of living has dramatically increased.

Although social transformations and liberalisation have been welcomed by many, these come at a cost and will not assuage every day concerns about the cost of living and pressures to find jobs in the private sector.

As the kingdom embarks on a costly battle with Russia and the US over shale gas, this economic pressure will only increase, bringing with it the scope for further anger at the status quo.

The decision to close the Grand Mosque of Mecca and to curtail the umrah was taken amid concerns about the threat posed by COVID-19, yet frustration quickly grew across social media as entertainment outlets initially remained open. An unpopular decision among conservative elements of Saudi society, this issue is emblematic of schisms in a society divided along economic, social, tribal and religious lines.

The failure to end the crisis with Qatar has also had an impact on how the crown prince is perceived inside the kingdom. Many Saudis expected a swift "victory", with Doha returning to the "rank and file" of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members following the Saudi line. That this did not happen has been seen as a sign of weakness on MBS's part.

The same is true of the failure to eradicate Iranian influence across the Middle East. The invasion of Yemen was ostensibly undertaken to prevent Iran from getting a foothold on the Arabian Peninsula. The curious case of Saad Hariri, the then prime minister of Lebanon, being summoned to Saudi Arabia and submitting his resignation apparently under the instructions of Riyadh, occurred to prevent Hezbollah, a key Iranian ally, from gaining greater influence in Lebanese politics.

Such misjudgements have prompted some in the kingdom to question whether MBS is the right person to rule the Saudi state.

Saudi Arabia's actions on the world stage have also increased pressure on the crown prince. Ongoing military involvement in Yemen has been a source of fervent criticism amid allegations of human rights abuses and war crimes committed there. Moreover, the killing of Jamal Khashoggi - an outspoken critic of military action in Yemen - in late 2018 led to questions from Agnes Callamard, the UN's special rapporteur, about the complicity of MBS in the death of Khashoggi.

While these questions mean little domestically, outside the kingdom they contribute to perceptions of MBS as a reckless leader, prone to rash moves.

Although MBS appears to possess the hallmarks of an authoritarian ruler, given his apparent predilection for quashing dissent, his programme of economic and social reforms have been generally well received among Western rulers. With this support, at times tacit, MBS was able to survive the Khashoggi affair, laying the blame on rogue elements in the Saudi security sector.

So why this crackdown on senior royals and top officials now?

Having been appointed crown prince in 2017, MBS has steadily sought to erode all forms of dissent and opposition to his rule, both in the kingdom and beyond. These arrests could have taken place at any point in the time since Prince Ahmed returned to the kingdom, or since Mohammed bin Nayef was placed under house arrest. There are always intricacies in security calculations that are not known to the general public, which may be the case here. Yet it may also be the case that as a perfect storm appears to engulf Saudi Arabia and the international community, another question perhaps sheds more light on the crown prince's position: "Why not?"

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/f...orm-brewing-saudi-arabia-200310053406818.html

 

[PakFactor]

When’s the civil war?