Behind the Saudi assault of the Saudi prince is confirmed the murder of Khashoggi
Behind the Saudi assault of the Saudi prince is confirmed the murder of Khashoggi
While Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pushed for ambitious social reforms, he also ordered a campaign of zero tolerance against dissent led by his most trusted confidant, who is now involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
The people who know the work of Saud al-Qahtani say that he was intimately involved in the attack of the kingdom on Mr. Khashoggi, from the efforts to persuade him to return to Saudi Arabia from the USA. UU., To the planning and execution of the operation that ended with his death in the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on October 2. According to these people, he is under criminal investigation and was dismissed from his job as media adviser to the Crown Prince.
The alleged role of Mr. Qahtani in the murder is complicating Saudi Arabia's efforts to separate its de facto leader, Prince Mohammed, of a murder that has unleashed. a diplomatic crisis for the kingdom and caused deep anguish among the country's rulers.
"Whether he knew it or not," said a Western official about the crown prince, "this happened under his supervision."
Mr. Qahtani and representatives of the Saudi government did not respond to requests for comment.
The representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States have disagreed with what happened to the missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, until Saudi Arabia confirmed that he was assassinated at his consulate in Istanbul. Here is how the narrative of each country developed. Photo: George Downs / The Wall Street Journal
The Saudi government he has repeatedly denied that Prince Mohammed had direct knowledge of the operation, despite persistent suspicions by Turkish and Western officials that he should have known. The prince condemned the murder as a "horrible incident" and swore to do justice.
This description of Mr. Qahtani's role in the selection of Mr. Khashoggi and other dissidents is based on interviews with members of the Saudi royal family, government advisers, Western officials, activists and others familiar with Mr. Qahtani and his work.
The 40-year-old, though nominally the prince's media adviser, was effectively Prince Mohammed's right-hand man, with extensive control over domestic and foreign affairs, people familiar with the matter said. The crown prince of last year also put Mr. Qahtani in charge of an effort to repatriate the dissidents, some of these people said.
One of the first objectives of Mr. Qahtani was Mr. Khashoggi, a insider once he became a critic of the government whose sharp tweets and Washington Post columns irritated the royal court. At first, Mr. Qahtani used adulation on behalf of his boss to lure him back.
"The Crown Prince values his role as editor," the messenger, Mr. Qahtani, told Mr. Khashoggi on WhatsApp, a friend of the journalist said. "He wants you back in Saudi Arabia."
When the journalist refused to return to the kingdom from the US UU., The Saudi government banned his son Salah from leaving.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, seen in March, was deeply upset by his father's decision to remove Mr. Qahtani from his post, two people familiar with the matter said.
Photo:
Cliff Owen / Associated Press
"I can not believe that you are crouching so low, and that even your family members are being attacked now," Khashoggi told Mr. Qahtani after learning of the ban on traveling to Salah, a friend of the journalist familiar with the exchange. of messages on WhatsApp. He said. Mr. Qahtani never responded. The Saudi government lifted the travel ban last week.
When Mr. Khashoggi entered the consulate in Istanbul for a scheduled meeting on October 2, 18 agents sent from Riyadh were waiting for him. The consular officer who scheduled the meeting had been in contact with Mr. Qahtani, two people familiar with the matter said.
Another trusted assistant of Prince Mohammed gathered the agent team: the eldest. General Ahmed al-Assiri, the deputy chief of intelligence of Saudi Arabia, who had worked closely with Mr. Qahtani in a previous role as a spokesman for the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen.
General Assiri was ordered to meet and send the team to Mr. Qahtani's Istanbul, several people familiar with the matter said.
"Saud al-Qahtani gave the impression that what he said was what MBS wanted," said a person familiar with the investigation, using the acronym by which Prince Mohammed is also known.
The operatives flew to Turkey from Riyadh on two Gulfstream aircraft operated by Sky Prime Aviation Services Ltd., a company controlled by Prince Mohammed's office. Mr. Qahtani was responsible for approving the use of those aircraft, said three people familiar with the matter.
Turkish authorities say the journalist was strangled and dismembered shortly after he set foot in the consulate. The Saudi government has acknowledged that the murder was probably premeditated.
Saudi authorities have so far arrested 18 men awaiting the results of an investigation into the murder. Like Mr. Qahtani, General Assiri is also under criminal investigation for his alleged role in the organization and cover-up of Mr. Khashoggi's death. While their movements are restricted, none have been arrested, said people familiar with the matter.
Both were fired by King Salman after he was informed about the evidence gathered by the Turkish authorities. Prince Mohammed was deeply upset by his father's decision to remove Mr. Qahtani from his post, two people familiar with the matter said. He complained openly that "Saud was the one who kept this place going," said one of these people.
Mr. Qahtani first joined the royal court under the previous monarch, King Abdullah. But his stature increased dramatically with the ascension to power of King Salman and his son, Prince Mohammed, in 2015, when Mr. Qahtani was officially appointed as an adviser to the royal court with the rank of minister.
Under the patronage of Prince Mohammed, Mr. Qahtani stepped up controls on the national press and formed a team of 3,000 people to monitor and intimidate critics on social media and spread pro-government messages, people familiar with the subject said. .
In the USA UU. Mr. Khashoggi worked to counter the effort in favor of Mr. Qahtani's government by bringing together a rival online team that included a prominent Saudi Arabian dissident based in Canada, Omar Abdulaziz. "It's not about him," said Mr. Abdulaziz, of Mr. Qahtani. "It's the system."
The project has not been launched yet, but Mr. Abdulaziz wants to carry it out. "As long as MBS is there, we are in danger," he said.
Mr. Qahtani also became a main force behind some of Prince Mohammed's most controversial decisions, including The breaking of ties with Qatar. and the Arrest activists for women's rights., said people familiar with the matter.
While searching online for Saudis expressing sympathy for their rival Qatar, asking followers to tag them with a "Black List" hashtag: Mr. Qahtani in August of 2017 wrote on Twitter: "Do you think I make decisions without guidance?" ? I am an employee and an executor of the orders of the king and the crown prince. "
As a first choice to attract dissidents, Mr. Qahtani often preferred flattery. Last year, he sent a direct message on Twitter to Manal al-Sharif, a leading Saudi rights activist based in Australia who had written an article about the kingdom's decision to lift the women's driving ban that pointed out obstacles that women continue to face.
"Hi, sister, Manal, nice article. God bless you my dear sister. Let me know if you need any service, "he said in the message, seen by The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Qahtani said he would help her obtain a Saudi visa for her son in Australia so that both could travel to the kingdom, an offer that Ms. Al-Sharif initially received but later suspected was a ruse to return to Saudi Arabia. .
Almost at the same time, Mr. Qahtani was conducting a campaign to silence women's rights activists, people familiar with the matter said. The targets include Loujain al-Hathloul, who lived in the United Arab Emirates when local authorities in March pulled her out of her car and took her on a plane to Saudi Arabia, said a person familiar with the incident.
Ms. Al-Hathloul was one of at least 14 civil rights activists who were arrested in Saudi Arabia in May. When asked about the arrests, Mr. Qahtani told a person on the phone that it was "to let them know that no one can twist the arm of the government," said one person informed about the conversation.
A former colleague said Mr. Qahtani's efforts to silence dissidents on behalf of his boss may have brought out the best in him. "If he really ordered this," the former colleague said about Mr. Khashoggi's murder, "then he miscalculated each step."
Write to Margherita Stancati in margherita.stancati@wsj.com and Summer Said in summer.said@wsj.com
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