Saudi King 'will replace Crown Prince to restore the credibility of the monarchy' after his
Saudi Arabia's King could have his Crown Prince son replaced to restore the credibility of the monarchy amid turmoil over the Jamal Khashoggi murder, Britain's former defence attaché to the kingdom has claimed, Daily Mail reported.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has faced claims he may have been behind the death of the journalist who went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Saudi Arabia first denied any role in Khashoggi's disappearance before blaming his October 2 death on a botched attempt to return him to the kingdom.
On Thursday, Jamal Khashoggi's eldest son left Saudi Arabia for Washington DC with his family after a travel ban intended to lure the journalist home was lifted.
It came as Saudi prosecutors said the murder was planned and suspects were being interrogated.
According to Colonel Brian Lees, once the UK's defence attaché to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the Crown Prince's days as de facto ruler are numbered and his father, King Salman, may now look to replace him following his disastrous handling of the case.
Colonel Lees, author of A Handbook of the Al Sa’ud Ruling Family of Saudi Arabia, told Rudaw: 'The Saudis will never admit that MbS (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman) was culpable but this does not mean that he is in the clear. I believe that the king – assuming he is in one of his "clear" periods – will get rid of MbS by replacing him.
'He cannot do so immediately, or even in the next few months, because that would look like bowing to foreign pressure. He may use the already established device of using the special advisory council within the family to appoint a successor. This would certainly restore the credibility of the monarchy.'
Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman
Yesterday US President Donald Trump, in his toughest comments on the case yet, said the Crown Prince bore ultimate responsibility for the operation that led to the journalist's killing, piling pressure on his ally.
Critics suspect the royal ordered the high-profile operation or at least knew about it.
But at an investment forum in Riyadh yesterday the defiant 33-year-old declared the murder a 'heinous crime that cannot be justified' and said Saudi Arabia was cooperating 'to bring the perpetrators to justice'.
It come days after it emerged that King Salman is now personally intervening in the Khashoggi case amid claims he had been kept in the dark about the crisis by his powerful son's aides.
The 82-year-old monarch has delegated vast powers to his son, essentially handing him the day-to-day running of the kingdom.
Culled from Daily Mail
My view: The Crown Prince should not only step down, he should face prosecution and be charged along with the 18 criminals that brutally slaughtered Khashoggi. The Saudis should stop deceiving the world because we all know that MBS allegedly gave them the order to kill Khashoggi. The royal family can't be the judge, Jury and the government., they need to be independent from the government, Saudis should be allowed to elect a president and opposition party to lead them, that's the only way there can be checks and balance. Khashoggi sacrificied his life for his fellow Saudis, so they can see the tyranic rule of the Crown Prince. Trump called former president Obama the "founder of ISIS", while Trump and his son in-law Jared Kushner wine and dine with the Crown Prince, who allegedly ordered the savage murder of Khashoggi, hypocrite Trump shame on you. Please do the right thing and hand over the 18 criminals to Turkey if you have nothing to hide and since the Saudi government confirmed that the horrific murder was premeditated.