Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince continues lawless crusade against critics and possible rivals

Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has continued his crusade against the opponents even as the Kingdom is facing a severe economic crisis due to the ongoing pandemic. Historic fall in oil prices due to the lack of global demand has not shaken bin Salman’s aim to consolidate power by silencing opposition forces through arrests.

Recently, Crown Prince’s brother Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef were arrested on the charges of treason. The arrests of Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz and his son Prince Nayef came as a shock to the royal family because of the father’s closeness with King Salman. 

According to media reports, Marc Tarabella, vice chairman of European Parliament’s delegation for relations with the Arab peninsula, has called on the European Commission to push for the release of the jailed prince. Tarabella wrote to EC that he remains confident that the release would positively impact the relations of the European Parliament with Saudi Arabia. However, the Saudi Crown Prince has not caved in even after tremendous pressure from European countries and lobbying effort by the US.

Rule marred with controversies

The crackdown on any kind of opposition to Crown Prince started in 2017 when hundreds of royal relatives and Saudi businessmen were locked up in a Ritz-Carlton hotel. Following his demonstration of grip on power in 2017, Bin Salman gained notoriety in 2018 for presiding over the murder of The Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

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In December last year, a Saudi court sentenced five people to death and prison term to three people in the case related to Khashoggi killing but exonerated Crown Prince’s inner circle. Just after the verdict, UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions Agnes Callamard lashed out at Saudi Arabia saying the “hitmen” were sentenced to death while the “masterminds” were barely touched by the investigation and the trial.

Saudi’s controversial figure is also accused of hacking Amazon CEO’s Jeff Bezos phone. On January 22, two United Nations experts confirmed the report, by The Guardian, of hacking in a statement that read, “The information we have received suggests the possible involvement of the Crown Prince in surveillance of Bezos, in an effort to influence, if not silence, The Washington Post's reporting on Saudi Arabia.”

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