Saudi Arabia detains members of the royal family

by Quinn Schoff

edited by Joshua Labrecque

Three senior members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family, including the King’s brother, have been arrested for unexplained reasons, according to the BBC. 

These arrests are viewed as an attempt by Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman to try to gain more power. The same action occurred in 2017 when dozens of important Saudi officials were detained in Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel after the Crown Prince ordered their arrests. 

Bin Salman is seen as a controversial figure caught up in a lot of scandals, including the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul in 2018. Bin Salman has been considered the ruler of the kingdom after he was named crown prince by his father King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2016.  

The three men who were arrested on Friday, March 6th are the King’s younger brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, and a royal cousin, Prince Nawaf bin Nayef. Guards went to the houses of all three royals wearing all black and masks, and searched the properties. Bin Nayef and Bin Abdulaziz are both seen as rivals to the crown prince who is first in line to the throne.

(Photo:BBC)