*Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: *
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman hosted the Central Intelligence Agency’sdirector Thursday, state media said, after three people were charged in theUnited States 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.
A senior Saudi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that thekingdom had not yet looked at the criminal complaint.
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“But what I can tell you is that we expect all our citizens to abide by thelaws of the countries in which they live,” the official told reporters inWashington.
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”.Advertisement
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. – APP/AFP
