Ex-Saudi official claims damaging intel against crown prince Mohammed bin Salman
Dubai, Oct 25: A former senior Saudi security official who helped oversee joint US counterterrorism efforts claimed in an interview with "60 Minutes" that the kingdom's crown prince once spoke of killing a sitting Saudi monarch before his own father was crowned king.
Saad al-Jabri did not provide evidence to the CBS News program, which aired Sunday.
The ex-intelligence official, who resides in exile in Canada, claimed that in 2014, Prince Mohammed boasted that he could kill King Abdullah. At the time, Prince Mohammed held no senior role in government but was serving as gatekeeper to his father's royal court when his father was still heir to the throne. King Salman ascended to the throne in January 2015 after his half-brother, King Abdullah, died of stated natural causes.
Al-Jabri used the interview to warn Prince Mohammed bin Salman that he's recorded a video that reveals even more royal secrets and some of the United States. A short, silent clip was shown to "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley. The video, al-Jabri said, could be released if he's killed.
It's the latest attempt by the ex-counterterrorism official to try to pressure the 36-year-old crown prince, whom the al-Jabri family says has detained two of al-Jabri's adult children and is using them as pawns to force their father back to Saudi Arabia. If he returns, al-Jabri faces possible abuse, imprisonment or house arrest like his former boss, the once-powerful interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted from the line of succession by Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017.
Al-Jabri, 62, claims the crown prince will not rest until "he see me dead" because "he fears my information." He described Prince Mohammed bin Salman as "a psychopath, killer."
The crown prince drew global outcry after it emerged that aides who worked for him had killed Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey in October 2018.
After recordings from inside the consulate were leaked by Turkish authorities, the Saudis claimed it had been an effort meant to forcibly bring Khashoggi back to the country, and that it went awry. The crown prince denied any knowledge of the operation, despite a US intelligence assessment to the contrary.
Al-Jabri claimed that in a 2014 meeting with Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was head of intelligence as interior minister at the time, the much younger Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he could kill King Abdullah to make way for his father's rise to the throne.
"He told him, I want to assassinate King Abdullah. I get a poison ring from Russia. It's enough for me just to shake hand with him and he will be done," Al-Jabri said, and claimed that Saudi intelligence took the threat seriously. The issue was handled within the royal family, al-Jabri said.
A video recording of that meeting still exists, he said.
The Saudi government told CBS News that al-Jabri is "a discredited former government official with a long history of fabricating and creating distractions to hide the financial crimes he committed." The government has issued extradition requests and Interpol notices for al-Jabri, alleging he is wanted for corruption. Al-Jabri claims his wealth comes from the generosity of the kings he's served.
While it is not the first time al-Jabri has tried to exert pressure on the crown prince, it is his first on-record interview since his son Omar al-Jabri, 23, and daughter Sarah al-Jabri, 21, were detained in March 2020 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A son-in-law was allegedly kidnapped from a third country, forcibly returned to Saudi Arabia, tortured and detained.
Human Rights Watch says the arrest of family members is an apparent effort to coerce al-Jabri to return to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi court sentenced his son and daughter to nine and six-and-a-half years in prison, respectively, for money laundering and unlawfully attempting to flee Saudi Arabia, according to the rights group. An appeals court reportedly upheld the prison sentence in May, without informing the family.
Al-Jabri has filed a federal lawsuit in the United States against the Saudi crown prince, alleging the royal tried to trap and kill him in the US and Canada.
Meanwhile, Saudi entities are suing him in the US and Canada, claiming he stole some half-a-billion dollars from the counterterrorism budget. A Canadian judge has frozen his assets due to evidence of fraud as the case proceeds, according to the CBS News report.
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
