Saudi Arabia Detains Three Senior Royals Over Suspected Coup Plot, Sources Say Reuters and Jack Khoury -Haaretz/Mar 087/2020
معلومات جديدة نشرها مجتهد: الملك السعودي توفي أو يحتضر مواقع الكترونية/07 آذار/2020
انباء عن محاولة انقلابية في السعودية وعن إعتقال ولي العهد”السابق وشقيق الملك مواقع الكترونية ووكالات/السبت 07 آذار 2020 ذكرت رويتر ومواقع الكترونية متفرقة بأن الوضع في السعودية على مستوى العائلة الحاكمة هو على غير ما يرام واضافت بأن السلطات العسكرية والأمنية القت القبض على إثنين من كبار أفراد الأسرة الحاكمة، وهما الأمير أحمد بن عبد العزيز الشقيق الأصغر للملك سلمان والأمير محمد بن نايف أبن شقيق العاهل السعودي وذلك حسبما قال مصدران مطلعان على الأمر. وقال مصدر لـ”رويترز”، إن “عملية الاحتجاز جرت يوم الجمعة”. من جهتها، ذكرت صحيفة “وول ستريت جورنال” الاميركية، إن “إعتقال الشخصين وهما حسب وصفها “من أكثر الشخصيات البارزة في المملكة ” من شأنه “تعزيز سلطة ولي العهد الأمير محمد بن سلمان وإزاحة منافسيه على اعتلاء العرش”. وذكرت الصحيفة نقلاً عن مصادر، أن “حراسًا من البلاط الملكي يرتدون أقنعة وملابس سوداء ذهبوا إلى منزلي الرجلين واعتقلوهما وفتشوا منزليهما”، مشيرة إلى أنه “قد وجهت لهما تهمة “الخيانة”. واستطردت الصحيفة، أن “عقوبة هذا الفعل هو السجن مدى الحياة وقد تصل للإعدام”. وتحرك الأمير محمد بن سلمان ولي عهد السعودية لتعزيز سلطته منذ توليه ولاية العهد بعد إستبعاد ابن عمه الأمير محمد بن نايف في 2017 . واحتجز الأمير محمد العديد من أفراد الأسرة الحاكمة في حملة لمكافحة الفساد في وقت لاحق من ذلك العام.
معلومات جديدة نشرها مجتهد: الملك السعودي توفي أو يحتضر مواقع الكترونية/07 آذار/2020 اشار الناشط السعودي “مجتهد” في معلومات نشرها عبر تويتر أن الملك السعودي توفي أو يحتضر وأن المعتقلون من العائلة بالعشرات وليس فقط أحمد وأبناء نايف وكشف أن الموظفين في الديوان والقصر والحرس الملكي أُخبروا أن الملك لا يمكن الوصول إليه لأسباب صحية. واشار إلى أن ابن سلمان ينوي إعلان بيان منسوب للملك بالتنحي وتنصيبه ملكا.
Saudi Arabia Detains Three Senior Royals Over Suspected Coup Plot, Sources Say Reuters and Jack Khoury -Haaretz/Mar 087/2020 Royals who are seeking to change the line of succession view Prince Ahmed, King Salman’s only surviving full brother, as a possible choice who would have the support of some Western powers, according to sources Saudi Arabia has detained three senior Saudi princes including Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, the younger brother of King Salman, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the king’s nephew, for allegedly planning a coup, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, King Salman’s son and de facto ruler of the country, which is the world’s top oil exporter and a key U.S. ally, has moved to consolidate power since ousting Mohammed bin Nayef as heir to the throne in a 2017 palace coup. Later that year, he arrested several royals and other prominent Saudis, holding them for months at Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton hotel, in an anti-corruption campaign that caused shockwaves at home and abroad. Later that year, he arrested several royals and other prominent Saudis, holding them for months at Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton hotel, in an anti-corruption campaign that caused shockwaves at home and abroad. Crown Prince Mohammed, who is also referred to as MbS, “accused them (the princes) of conducting contacts with foreign powers, including the Americans and others, to carry out a coup d’etat,” the regional source said. “With these arrests, MbS consolidated his full grip on power. It’s over with this purge,” the source added, indicating that no rivals remain to challenge his succession to the throne. Another source said the princes were accused of “treason”. A third source said they had been discussing a coup with the support of powerful tribes but had not reached advanced stages. The Saudi government media office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the detentions, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. It was unclear where the princes are being held. There was no way to contact them for comment on the coup allegations. “They (princes) have to be treated with dignity,” the third source said, referring to their stature within the family. The regional source and another source said King Salman had approved the move and described him as mentally and physically sound. The king met British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Thursday in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Both King Salman and the crown prince attended a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Crown Prince Mohammed, 34, has fueled resentment among some prominent branches of the ruling family by tightening his grip on power. Some critics have questioned his ability to lead after the 2018 murder of a prominent journalist by Saudi agents and the largest-ever attack on Saudi oil infrastructure last year, sources have said. They 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 authorities have not commented on issues of succession or criticism of the crown prince’s leadership. Prince Mohammed is popular among Saudi youth and has staunch supporters within the royal family, which numbers around 10,000 members. Several Saudis on Saturday tweeted photos of the king and his son under the hashtag “We_are_all_Salman_We_are_all-Mohammed” in a show of support. Some critics of the crown prince, including a dissident prince in exile, posted pictures of Prince Ahmed, pledging allegiance to him. Saudi insiders and Western diplomats say the family is unlikely to oppose the crown prince while the 84-year-old king remains alive, saying the monarch is unlikely to turn against his favorite son, to whom he has delegated most responsibilities of rule. Prince Ahmed has largely kept a low profile since returning to Riyadh in October 2018 after 2-1/2 months abroad and Saudi watchers have said there is no evidence he is willing to take the throne. During that trip abroad, he appeared to criticize the Saudi leadership while responding to protesters outside a London residence chanting for the downfall of the Al Saud dynasty. Ahmed 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 2017, sources have earlier said. The movements of Mohammed bin Nayef, who as a senior interior ministry official had deep ties to the U.S. security and intelligence apparatus, have been restricted and monitored since then, sources have previously said. Nawaf, in his early 30s, has a much lower profile. The latest detentions come at a time of heightened tension with rival Iran and as the crown prince implements 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 major economies. The crown prince has been lauded at home for easing social restrictions in the conservative Muslim kingdom and trying to diversify the economy away from oil. But he has come under international criticism over a devastating war in Yemen, the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate, and the detention of women’s rights activists seen as part of a crackdown on dissent.
