According to multiple reports, Prince Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the only living brother of King Salman of Saudi Arabia, has been detained, widely believed to be Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's attempt to consolidate power within the royal family.
Prince Ahmed was detained on Friday as part of a security crackdown that also included the detention of the king's nephew, former interior minister and crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, according to multiple U.S. media reports. Both senior royals are seen as potential replacements for Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia to succeed King Salman at 84.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Prince Ahmed and Mohammed bin Nayef were accused of plotting a coup d'état to overthrow the king and his son Mohammed bin Salman. By Saturday, reports had expanded to include dozens of Interior Ministry officials, senior military officers and others suspected of supporting the coup.
Saudi authorities have not issued official comment on the arrests.
Who is Prince Ahmed?
Prince Ahmed is one of the most senior members of the ruling Saudi family.
He and his brother Salman were among the powerful "Seven Sons of Sudairi", which refers to the seven sons born to the most beloved wife of Saudi Arabia's founding King Ibn Saud, Hussa Bint Ahmed Sudaili.
Together, these seven brothers largely ensured the transfer of the throne and important ministries between them, keeping power away from the king's other dozens of sons. These include former King Fahd, who ruled the country from 1982 to 2005, Prince Sultan, who served as defense minister for nearly half a century before becoming Crown Prince Abdullah in 2005, and the current king.
Prince Ahmed was born in the early 1940s and received a formal education in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. He later traveled to the United States and received a degree in political science from Redland University in California in 1968.
Prince Ahmed served as Deputy Minister of the Interior for decades before being appointed Minister of the Interior in June 2012. But less than five months after taking on the role, he abruptly stepped down and was replaced by another high-profile detainee, Mohammed bin Nayev.
For several years, Prince Ahmed also oversaw the administration of the holy sites of Mecca and Medina.
As the youngest of the Seven Sons of Suderi, Prince Ahmed was seen as a potential future ruler in the past, but at least twice missed the throne.
Nevertheless, Prince Ahmed still wielded official influence as a member of the Allegiance Committee, a high-ranking royal body that must approve the ascension of the next heir to the throne.
In 2017, he was one of three members of the Allegiance Committee who opposed the young Mohammed bin Salman becoming the first heir to the throne and sidelined more senior princes.
Prince Ahmed left Saudi Arabia in November 2017 and was followed by a far-reaching campaign to arrest royals, senior officials and business elites in what it has called an attempt to combat corruption at the top of the Saudi bureaucracy. The arrestees were held for weeks at the luxury Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh.
Prince Ahmed reportedly flew back to Saudi Arabia from London in October 2018 after receiving assurances that he would not be detained.
While in London, Prince Ahmed appeared to have openly opposed Mohammed bin Salman's military campaign in Yemen, which he launched in 2015 when Saudi Arabia formed an alliance with other Arab states in an attempt to defeat the Houthi rebels.
A nearly two-minute video shared online in September 2018 showed protesters protesting Saudi Arabia's role in Yemen's devastating war in London, and Prince Ahmed came up to them and demanded that protesters on his london doorstep not see the entire royal family as a whole.
He said: "What does the whole Saudi family have to do with this? Some people are responsible and don't involve others. ”
When asked by a demonstrator in charge of the war, Prince Ahmed replied: "The king and the crown prince, and some others." ”
He also said he hoped the war in Yemen and elsewhere would stop as soon as possible.
Shortly after, Prince Ahmed issued a brief official statement, saying his comments were taken out of context to clarify that "the king and crown prince are responsible for the state and its decisions".
Prince Ahmed reportedly retained his allowance and was respected upon his return, but has kept a low profile ever since.
The director of the Gulf Affairs Institute said Ahmed had "no real chance" to become king and returned "because he had no ambitions."
He argues that the detention is a "precautionary" measure and does not belong to a so-called conspiracy.