*RIYADH: *Saudi authorities have detained three princes including KingSalman’s brother and nephew on charges of plotting a coup, the US mediareported Friday, signalling a further consolidation of power by thekingdom’s de facto ruler.
The detentions cast aside the last vestiges of potential opposition toCrown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and come as the kingdom limits access toIslam’s holiest sites in a highly sensitive move to contain thefast-spreading coronavirus.
Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, a brother of King Salman, and themonarch’s nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef were accused of treason andtaken from their homes early Friday by black-clad royal guards, the WallStreet Journal reported citing unnamed sources.
The Saudi royal court has accused the two men, once potential contendersfor the throne, of “plotting a coup to unseat the king and crown prince”and could face lifetime imprisonment or execution, the newspaper said.
*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 Prince Mohammed, who hasconsolidated his grip on power with the imprisonment of prominent clericsand activists as well as princes and business elites.
Prince Mohammed has also faced a torrent of international condemnation overthe murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s Istanbulconsulate in October 2018.
Already viewed as the de facto ruler controlling all the major levers ofgovernment, from defence to the economy, the prince is widely seen to bestamping out traces of internal dissent before a formal transfer of powerfrom his 84-year-old father King Salman.
“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.”
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.
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Just before his return in October 2018, the prince had courted controversyover remarks he made to protesters in London chanting against Saudi royalsover the kingdom’s involvement in the ongoing conflict in Yemen.
“What does the family have to do with it? Certain individuals areresponsible… the king and the crown prince,” he said, according to awidely-circulated online video of the incident.
The comment was seen by many as rare criticism of the kingdom’s leadershipand its role in Yemen, but Prince Ahmed dismissed that interpretation as“inaccurate”.
Prince Mohammed had edged out Prince Nayef, the former crown prince andinterior minister, in 2017 to become heir to the Arab world’s most powerfulthrone.
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.
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 the plunging price of crude,its major source of revenue. -APP / AFP
