*Riyash – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman hosted the Central IntelligenceAgency’s director Thursday, state media said, after three people werecharged in the US with spying on Twitter users critical of the royal family*.
The king and Gina Haspel “discussed a number of topics of mutual interest”,the official Saudi Press Agency said, without offering details.
The meeting in Riyadh was attended by a number of Saudi officials includingForeign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and intelligence chief Khalidal-Humaidan.
Haspel’s visit comes after a US court on Wednesday charged three people,including two Saudis, with spying on Twitter users critical of thekingdom’s royal family.
The trio — including two former Twitter employees — allegedly worked tounmask the ownership details behind dissident Twitter accounts on behalf ofsomeone prosecutors designated “Royal Family Member-1”.
The Washington Post reported the latter to be Crown Prince Mohammed binSalman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
Ties between firm allies Washington and Riyadh have been strained over thebrutal murder last year of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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The Washington Post reported the latter to be Crown Prince Mohammed binSalman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
Ties between firm allies Washington and Riyadh have been strained over thebrutal murder last year of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A critic of Prince Mohammed, Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by Saudiagents inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
The CIA has reportedly concluded that the prince himself was closely linkedto the murder, a charge vigorously denied by Riyadh. -APP/AFP
