A former Saudi intelligence official has made serious allegations against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Former intelligence officer Saad al-Jabri has alleged that Crown Prince Salman had spoken of killing Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah with ‘venom’.
Jabri claimed in an interview to CBS that in 2014, Salman told his cousin that he wanted to do this “to clear the path for his father”.
At that time there was tension in the family ruling Saudi Arabia regarding the heir to the throne.
At the same time, the Saudi government has described Jabri as a former officer who has a history of fabricating stories and who has lost his credibility.
What did the former officer say?
In an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes programme, Jabri said King Salman’s son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (in whose hands the real power of the country is believed) is “a psychopath, a murderer with unlimited power. He is a danger to the people of his country, to the Americans and to the whole world.”
He alleged that at a meeting held in 2014, Prince Salman told his cousin and then Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef that he could get King Abdullah killed.
Jabri said, “The Crown Prince said that I want to kill King Abdullah. I got the Poison Ring from Russia. It will be enough for me to shake hands with him and his work will be done.”
“Don’t know if he was bragging…. He said this and we took it very seriously.”
He said that this matter was settled secretly in the royal court (Royal Court). He also said that the video recording of this meeting was done secretly and he is aware of where are the two copies of the video.
King Abdullah died in the year 2015. He was 90 years old then. After him his half-brother Salman became King. King Salman declared Mohammed bin Nayef as the Crown Prince.
But in the year 2017, Mohammed bin Salman was declared the successor of the throne in place of Mohammed bin Nayef. Prince Nayef was also removed from the post of Interior Minister. According to reports, he was first placed under house arrest and then taken into custody last year. The details of the charges leveled against him could not be ascertained.
After the removal of Mohammed bin Nayef, Jabri moved to Canada.
Jabri told that a friend of the Middle Eastern Intelligence Service had warned him that Mohammed bin Salman was sending a team to kill him. According to him, this is in October 2018. A few days earlier, Saudi Arabian agents had killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
circle of charges
He alleged that a six-member team reached Ottawa but was sent back. Custom officials found that this team was carrying ‘suspicious DNA analysis equipment’.
Last year, Jabri filed a case in the US Federal Court and accused the Crown Prince of attempted murder.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had dismissed the allegations. He also denied involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. However, US intelligence agencies estimate that it was they who approved the operation.
The BBC contacted the Saudi government regarding these allegations.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington said in a statement sent to CBS, “Jabri is a former officer who has lost his credibility. He has a long history of creating stories. In order to hide their economic crimes committed to get a luxurious lifestyle for themselves and family, they keep trying to divert attention.
Many companies in Saudi Arabia have made corruption cases against Jabri. A Canadian judge ordered the seizure of his assets and said there was “evidence of fraud” against him.
Jabri denies allegations of theft of government funds. He says his former employers rewarded him generously.
Saudi authorities detained Jabri’s son Omar and daughter Sarah in March 2020. Human rights groups said it was an attempt to force them to return to Saudi Arabia.
In November, the two siblings were sentenced by a Saudi Arabian court for attempted escape and money laundering. Both of them had denied the allegations. He appealed against this sentence but the court upheld the sentence.
