Published: 10 March 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
A PURGE OF PRINCES and aides continued across Saudi Arabia on Saturday after the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, claimed to have foiled a coup being plotted by two of the country’s most senior royals – widely seen as among the few left standing in the way of his ascension.
Prince Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz, the only full brother of the monarch, King Salman, and Mohammed bin Nayef, who was heir to the throne until being ousted by Prince Mohammed, face treason charges after being accused of organising against the ambitious heir.
Their arrest on Friday shocked the country and sparked a new round of speculation about the 84-year-old king’s hold on the throne. Exiled dissidents suggested Prince Mohammed’s announcement masked an imminent push to take power from his father.
King Salman, is believed to have signed the warrants that justified his brother’s arrest and that of the man slated to replace him until Prince Mohammed was drafted in, following a palace coup in 2017, and named crown prince.
FULL STORY Saudi crown prince signals new purge with ‘treason’ arrests (The Guardian)
Photo: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Cliff Owen/AP)
