RIYADH: Saudi authorities have detained three royal family membersincluding two senior princes, the US media reported Friday, signalling thepowerful crown prince is further tightening his grip on power.
Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, a brother of King Salman, and themonarch’s nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef were taken from their homesearly Friday by royal guards after being accused of treason, the WallStreet Journal reported citing unnamed sources.
*The New York Times* also reported the detentions, adding that PrinceNayef’s younger brother Prince Nawaf bin Nayef had also been detained.Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The detentions mark the latest crackdown by de facto ruler Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman, who has consolidated his grip on power with theimprisonment of prominent clerics and activists as well as princes andbusiness elites.
Prince Ahmed, said to be in his 70s, had returned to the kingdom from hisbase in London in the aftermath of the Khashoggi scandal, in what some sawas an effort to shore up support for the monarchy.
In June 2017, Prince Mohammed had edged out Prince Nayef, the former crownprince and interior minister, to become heir to the Arab world’s mostpowerful throne.
At the time, Saudi television channels showed Prince Mohammed kissing thehand of the older prince and kneeling before him in a show of reverence.Western media reports later said that the deposed prince had been placedunder house arrest, a claim strongly denied by Saudi authorities.
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“Prince Mohammed is emboldened — he has already ousted any threats to hisrise and jailed or murdered critics of his regime without anyrepercussion,” Becca Wasser, a policy analyst at the US-based RANDCorporation, said of the latest crackdown.
“This is a further step to shore up his power and a message to anyone —including royals — not to cross him.”
The detentions come at a sensitive time as Saudi Arabia bars Muslimpilgrims from Islam’s holiest sites to contain the novel coronavirus.
The kingdom has suspended the “umrah” year-round pilgrimage over fears ofthe disease spreading to Mecca and Medina, raising uncertainty over theupcoming hajj —a key pillar of Islam.
The oil-rich kingdom is also grappling with plunging price of crude, itsmajor source of revenue. -APP/AFP
