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A8 WORLD NEWS
Monday 6 noveMber 2017

Saudi crown prince shocks kingdom with arrests

By A. AL-SHIHRI Among those taken into
AYA BATRAWY custody overnight Satur-
Associated Press day were billionaire Prince
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) Alwaleed bin Talal, one
— Saudi Arabia’s heir to of the world’s richest men
the throne is overseeing with extensive holdings in
an unprecedented wave Western companies, as
of arrests of dozens of the well as two of the late King
country’s most powerful Abdullah’s sons.
princes, military officers, in- The arrest of senior princes
fluential businessmen and upends a longstanding tra-
government ministers — dition among the ruling Al
some of them potential ri- Saud family to keep their
vals or critics of the crown disagreements private in
prince, whose purported an effort to show strength
anti-corruption sweep sent and unity in the face of
shockwaves across the Saudi Arabia’s many tribes
kingdom Sunday as he fur- and factions. It also sends a
ther consolidated power. message that the 32-year-

In this July, 23, 2017 photo, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman poses while meeting with
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on
Saturday, Nov. 11 2017, removed a prominent prince who headed the National Guard, replaced
the economy minister and announced the creation of a new anti-corruption committee.
(Presidency Press Service/Pool Photo via AP)
old crown prince, Moham- — a possible sign that an economy away from de-
med bin Salman, has the investigation of this scale pendence on oil and liber-
full backing of his father, could take weeks. Marri- alize some aspects of the
King Salman, to carry out ott International said in a ultraconservative society.
sweeping anti-corruption statement that it is currently The kingdom’s top council
reforms targeting senior evaluating the situation at of clerics issued a public
royals and their business the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, statement overnight saying
associates, who have long but declined to comment it is an Islamic duty to fight
been seen as operating further, citing privacy con- corruption — essentially
above the law. cerns. A Saudi government giving religious backing to
Reports suggested those official with close ties to se- the high-level arrests.
detained were being held curity forces said 11 princes It’s unclear if the U.S. had
at the Ritz Carlton in Ri- and 38 others were being any advance word of the
yadh, which only days ear- questioned. arrests. President Donald
lier hosted a major invest- The official spoke to the AP Trump’s son-in-law and
ment conference that the on condition of anonym- White House adviser Jared
crown prince attended ity because he was not Kushner and others made
with global business titans. authorized to speak to the an unannounced trip re-
A Saudi official told The As- media. The surprise arrests cently to Riyadh.
sociated Press that other were immediately hailed Earlier on Saturday, Trump
five-star hotels across the by pro-government media said he spoke to King
capital were also being outlets as the clearest sign Salman, though the White
used to hold some of those yet that Prince Moham- House readout of that call
arrested. The Ritz Carl- med is keeping his prom- did not include any refer-
ton had no availability for ise to reform the country ence to the impending ar-
bookings until Dec. 1, 2017 as it moves to overhaul its rests. q