[ad_1]
LONDON – A prominent member of the Saudi royal family, who feared returning to the kingdom after criticizing the crown prince, has returned from London to Riyadh, three Saudis close to him said Tuesday.
The return of Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, the younger brother of King Salman, is the largest movement of the royal family since the assassination of dissident Jamal Khashoggi that sparked an international reaction against the kingdom.
Prince Ahmed has been afraid to return since he made public statements criticizing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 33, the King's favorite son and de facto ruler of the kingdom, said relatives of his family .
Among the most prominent personalities of the royal family, Prince Ahmed could help legitimize any reaction of the family to the crisis caused by the murder of Mr. Khashoggi – that this reaction is an effort to limit the unparalleled power of the prince his hold on the kingdom.
It took more than two weeks after Khashoggi's disappearance from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for kingdom leaders to recognize that he had been murdered by a team of Saudi agents.
Turkish officials said they had audio recordings and other evidence that the agents had quickly dismembered him with a bone saw to get rid of the body. An operation which, according to them, could only have been carried out with the authorization of the highest courts of the royal court.
Saudi officials have portrayed the killing as reprehensible, insisting that Crown Prince Mohammed did not order or guarantee. Many current and former Western leaders with experience in the kingdom questioned the plausibility of this claim, given the prince's tight control over the kingdom's intelligence and security services.
While a cloud is now hovering over the crown prince, outside observers have asked if the royal family could react by circling its trolleys or seeking to impose control over its power, perhaps by limiting its role in foreign affairs or the West.
Prince Ahmed had repeatedly postponed his return in recent weeks for fear of being under house arrest, like other members of the royal family who were perceived as rivals of the crown prince, his relatives said.
Last month, Prince Ahmed was accosted in London by protesters chanting against the royal family because of Saudi Arabia's leading role in the three-year civil war in Yemen that led to a military stalemate and a humanitarian disaster.
"What does this have to do with Al Saud?" Said Prince Ahmed, referring to the royal family as a whole, in filmed commentary. "The leaders are the king and his crown prince."
"I hope the situation will come to an end," he added, "whether in Yemen or elsewhere, today before tomorrow."
Prince Ahmed has become an instant hero for the Arab critics of the Crown Prince of the region. Many posted oaths of loyalty on the Internet as if Prince Ahmed were king.
But he quickly made it clear that he had no intention of attacking the Crown Prince, issuing a statement that his remarks had been misinterpreted.
Until Tuesday, Prince Ahmed had remained in London, while wanting to be assured that he would suffer no repercussions from his powerful nephew when he returned to Riyadh.
He did not know how safe he now felt to go home just because the older members of the family were coming together to deal with the crisis. People familiar with his travels said that Prince Ahmed had landed in Saudi Arabia around 1:30 Tuesday and that Crown Prince Mohammed had warmly welcomed him to the airport.
