Two senior princes detained in a crackdown against potential rivals of Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince are being held in private villas and have been allowed to call their families, according to a person with ties to the royal family, Washington Post informed.
As speculation about the motivation for the arrests swirled, the Saudi royal court sought to quell rumors that King Salman is in poor health, releasing photographs said to have been taken Sunday that show him greeting two Saudi diplomats and appearing to be well.
The detention on Friday of the king’s younger brother, Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, and one of his nephews, Mohammed bin Nayef, sparked rumors that Salman’s health might have deteriorated, prompting the bold move by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king’s son and heir, against some of the most senior members of the royal family.
Royal guards detained the two princes as they responded to an early-morning summons to meet the crown prince at the palace, said the person with ties to the royal family, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. The princes have in the past been considered possible heirs to the crown.
The person said the princes contacted family members on Saturday and told them that they were being held not in prisons but in private royal villas. Ahmed asked relatives to send him his “bisht”, a robe worn for official engagements, prompting the person to speculate that he might soon make a public appearance, perhaps under duress.
At least two other princes — Mohammed bin Nayef’s brother Nawaf and Ahmed’s son Nayef — were also detained in what appeared to be a bid to intimidate the highest echelons of the royal family. As many as 15 senior princes might have received summonses to the palace for interrogation, according to a list of names circulating among people with connections to the Saudi court.
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