Saudi Arabia frees Prince of repression of corruption in order to relieve royal tensions

Their detentions were part of a wave of arrests that the Saudi government has described as a crackdown on corruption, but critics described an effort by the young Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to set aside their potential rivals .

Today, the Royal Court seems to be looking for ways to strengthen domestic support as part of efforts to defuse its worst diplomatic crisis since the September 11 attacks, when the majority of the attackers were Saudis. Prince Mohammed and his entourage of advisers are under intense global scrutiny and pressure after the murder of Mr. Khashoggi.

"The management wants to show that it wants to change and takes serious action," said a senior royal official. "The release of Khalid is quite symbolic because he was arrested for acting against the Crown Prince," he said.

Prince Khalid could not be reached on Saturday. Late Friday, his son and two nieces tweeted photos of him visiting his son, who has been in a coma for over a decade, with Prince Alwaleed.

The representatives of the Saudi government did not respond to a request for comment.

Other releases of princes and detained businessmen are under consideration, said three members of the royal family and one familiar with the case. They predict that Prince Turki bin Abdullah, Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd and billionaire businessman Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi will be among those who could be released in the coming days, they said. Adviser to Prince Turki, he had not been informed of his imminent release. A spokesman for Mr. Al-Amoudi did not return requests for comments.

The death of Mr. Khashoggi – who was killed by a team of Saudi agents on October 2 – put a strain on Riyadh's ties with foreign powers, including its main ally, the United States. The Saudi government acknowledged that the murder committed in his consulate in Istanbul was premeditated, and detained 18 people in connection with the murder, but he repeatedly denied that Prince Mohammed had any direct knowledge of the operation. The prince condemned the murder as a "hideous incident" and pledged to deliver justice.

Yet, the episode has put pressure on the Crown Prince. Two of the Crown Prince's closest badociates lost their jobs because of their alleged involvement in the plot. Moreover, according to the people in the know, many of the prince's advisers should be put away or sent away.

Since being named heir to last year, Prince Mohammed has led a campaign against alleged dissidents, while easing some of the kingdom's social constraints, including allowing women to drive and live music concerts.

But within the royal family, the resentment of the young prince arouses more and more resentment. In addition to cracking down on corruption that has imprisoned many family members at the five-star Ritz Carlton, Prince Mohammed has also cracked down on conservative clerics and arrested activist women driving while driving – waiting to lift the police. driving prohibition.

"The crackdown on religious and dissidents, the Ritz campaign and the arrests of activists are misfortunes that can and must be reversed," said another royal.

"It's especially important to free those who are still locked up from the Ritz if you want to fix the obstacles with the different branches of the royal family," he said.

During the anti-corruption crackdown, some detainees were beaten and deprived of sleep during interrogation, officials and relatives of detainees said. In some cases, these persons stated that the persons in custody were not charged with crimes and that they were allowed little or no contact with relatives or lawyers.

Many of them are held in a maximum security prison outside the capital. Others are housed in palaces turned into detention centers, said two government officials.

Write to Summer Said at [email protected] and Benoit Faucon at [email protected]