3 senior members of Saudi royal family detained

In a fresh episode of Saudi palace intrigue, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has detained three members of the royal family, including a brother of the king and a former crown prince who had been potential obstacles to his power.

The detentions were the latest demonstration of the crown prince’s willingness to take extraordinary measures to quash any perceived rival.

Crown Prince Mohammed first demonstrated his iron grip on the kingdom in 2017 by locking up hundreds of royal relatives and wealthy Saudi businessmen in a Ritz-Carlton hotel.

The next year he gained international notoriety by presiding over the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul — an assassination that American intelligence agencies believe the prince ordered.

 

Dhaka/Mukul