AFP
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News from the NOS•yesterday, 22:06
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Human rights activists are furious over Britain’s invitation to Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday. The Saudi Embassy in London said the Crown Prince will arrive in London tomorrow to pay tribute to the late Queen. It is unclear whether he will also attend the funeral at Westminster Abbey.
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According to the US CIA intelligence service, Mohammed bin Salman authorized the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Khashoggi wrote critical articles about the Saudi royal family for the Washington Post, among others. The murder sparked international outrage and Mohammed bin Salman was boycotted by the West until this year. The prince has always denied that he was personally involved in the case.
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Approach
When Western countries faced a drastic reduction in oil and gas supply from Russia due to Russian sanctions and energy prices soared, leaders like Biden and Macron contacted Mohammed bin Salman again. The UK has had no public contact with the prince since the Khashoggi scandal.
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The invitation to the crown prince is, in the words of Khashoggi’s betrothed, a “stain on the memory of Queen Elizabeth”. She demanded that Mohammed bin Salman be arrested as he sets foot in the UK, but said he doubted it would happen.
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Other organizations also point to the poor human rights situation in Saudi Arabia, where dissident voices are silenced and recently a 34-year-old Saudi woman who studied in England, he was imprisoned for 34 years because of his Twitter posts.
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Hot contact
The former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, John Jenkins said yesterday The Guardian that the Saudi royal family and Charles like each other. “He made regular visits to the Gulf and received the Saudi princes officially and privately in London. He paid attention to them. And made an effort to learn some Arabic.”
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