GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) looks on next to Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (R) during the Future Investment Initiative FII conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on October 24, 2018.
- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince has arrested three members of the royal family, several news agencies reported.
- The New York Times said the reason behind the arrests was "unclear."
- The arrests appear to be an effort by MBS to consolidate power.
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Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, had three members of the royal family detained on Friday, including two senior members, several news agencies reported.
Bin Salman, better known as MBS, detained Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, a brother of King Salman, former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, and his younger brother, according to The New York Times.
Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz at some point was looked at as someone who could stop MBS' power grab, the Times reported, and Mohammed bin Nayef was a former interior minister and "a longtime favorite of Washington."
The Times said the reason for the arrests was "unclear." According to The Wall Street Journal, the two senior members, who were at some point in line for the throne, were accused of "plotting a coup to unseat the king and crown prince," by the Saudi royal court.
The Journal also "details of the alleged coup attempt couldn't be learned." However, their detention removed the threat of two people who could have had claim to throne alongside MBS, if King Salman were to die or step down.
In 2017, MBS ordered the detention of 200 people in a Ritz-Carlton hotel on corruption charges. At least 11 of those detained were princes and dozens were government officials. According to The Journal, many were released after they agreed to pay large amounts of money.
In October of 2018, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen was in self-imposed exile from the kingdom. The Washington Post columnist had written op-eds that were critical of the Saudi regime. According to the CIA, MBS ordered the murder; and a United Nations report points to his involvement. He has taken responsibility for the death, but has denied knowledge of the plot.
MBS, the The Journal reported has cracked down on dissidents using sites like Twitter. He's had online critics arrested and used large numbers of twitter accounts to attack people who publicly criticized him.
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