Saudi: Case against MBS in US court 'public relations'

The Saudi Royal Court has claimed that the US court case against Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman is “merely public relations”, RT reported on Friday.

Bin Salman has been issued a summons by the US District Court for the District of Columbia for a lawsuit by a former top Saudi intelligence agent who was allegedly targeted in a failed assassination attempt.

Saad Al-Jabri, a former Saudi official who is currently residing in Canada, filed a complaint to the US courts against Bin Salman, accusing him of kidnapping his son and daughter in Saudi Arabia without charges.

“Omar and Sarah were kidnapped at dawn on 16 March and taken out of their beds by about 50 state security officers who arrived in 20 cars,” according to their brother, Khalid Al-Jabri.

The family house in Riyadh was searched, the CCTV memory cards removed and the pair, aged 21 and 20, respectively, held at a detention centre. There have been no charges issued and no reason given to the family for their arrests.

Read: US summons Saudi Crown Prince over failed assassination attempt 

Al-Jabri is stated to be under protection by police and private security, asserting that his close knowledge of the crown prince’s activities exposes him as a target.

Al-Jabri also accused the crown prince of dispatching a team to assassinate him in Canada, and dismember his body, similar to the fate of the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

RT reported the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) claiming that the Saudi crown prince is eager to eliminate Al-Jabri because he is close to Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef, who was replaced by Bin Salman as a crown prince in 2017.

Read: Bin Salman ordered hit squad to kill former official, claims lawsuit