With two senior Saudi princes, including a former heir to the throne, being detained in a crackdown against potential rivals of Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi king has appeared in public, dispelling rumours about his death or critical health.
The two princes are being held in private villas and have been allowed to call their families, according to a person with ties to the royal family.
As speculation about the motivation for the arrests swirled, the Saudi royal court sought to quell rumours that King Salman was in poor health, releasing photographs said to have been taken Sunday that show him greeting two Saudi diplomats and appearing to be well.
The move came as two other princes who had also been arrested were freed late on Sunday. Reports confirmed that both Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saud bin Nayef and Prince Saud bin Nayef had been questioned by royal court aides since being seized from their homes on Friday.
According to The Guardian, Saudi officials continued to insist on Sunday that the detentions had foiled the early stages of a coup against the heir to the throne, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who had ordered his relatives arrested. He is viewed as the de facto ruler, controlling all the major arms of government from defence to the economy.
Officials said King Salman himself had signed the arrest warrants, an unusual move against two of the Kingdom’s most senior royals — one of whom, Prince Ahmed, is his only surviving full brother.
Both men had been seen as among the last remaining obstacles to Prince Mohammed’s almost inevitable ascension. Earlier purges of business figures and rivals had already cleared the way for the 34-year-old crown prince.
The early-morning arrests caused new shockwaves in a kingdom shaken by three years of cultural reforms combined with a ruthless crackdown on dissent, highlighted by the 2018 murder of the critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which was carried out by royal court aides.
King Salman’s support for his son appeared consistent throughout. However, persistent reports from inside the palace revealed glimpses of an ongoing tussle for power, which the young crown prince appeared to be winning.
