A dissident Saudi prince has strongly attacked the Saudi regime for stalling justice in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at his country’s consulate in Istanbul and the ongoing war on Yemen.
The opposition prince, who lives in exile in Germany, Khalid bin Farhan, attacked the Saudi regime for not yet convicting anyone for the assassination of Khashoggi, despite a year of committing this heinous crime that shook the world and continue its war against Yemen.
This came during his participation in a protest in front of the Riyadh Embassy in Berlin to commemorate the first anniversary of the assassination of “Khashoggi” inside his consulate last year in Istanbul by a squad killed, including Saudi officials.
The opposition prince said: “A full year and the House of Saud promised the world public to try the perpetrators, and so far we have not seen any real trial.”
The Saudi Prince considered that the judicial procedures in the assassination of “Khashoggi” in the Kingdom as opaque, unfair and conducted in closed rooms without the world knowing the details of what happened in it.
On the other hand, bin Farhan criticized the Saudi government continuation of launching a military operation that started five years ago on Yemen, stressing that whether a Saudi or Yemeni is killed, everyone is a loser because it is a war against Arabs and Muslims and the people of the two countries.
The Saudi prince, who holds German citizenship, demanded that the war on Yemen be stopped immediately, calling on the Saudi citizens not to take a negative attitude towards this matter because they would be complicit and involved in it.
Earlier this year, Bin Farhan announced the launch of an opposition movement calling for regime change in his homeland and pledged to protect dissidents fleeing the Kingdom.
Prince Khalid bin Farhan, who fled the Kingdom more than a decade ago. He told The Independent he wanted to establish a constitutional monarchy and hold elections to appoint a prime minister and a government to fight what he called chronic human rights violations and injustice in the country.
The German-based emir hopes his opposition group, the Movement for the Freedom of the Arabian Peninsula, will provide those fleeing the Kingdom with lawyers, professional translators and access to the media to help them seek asylum in Europe.
The idea crystallized in conjunction with a clear crackdown on regime critics after Saudi officials assassinated Khashoggi at his country’s consulate in Istanbul in October.
Some Turkish and US intelligence officials, as well as US lawmakers, believe the killing could only have been ordered by a powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
The Saudi authorities, who have launched an investigation into the case, have repeatedly denied the involvement of bin Salman. Instead, they said rogue Saudi officials were behind this heinous death.
“We need a new system in the Kingdom like other democracies, where people have the right to elect a government to establish a new Saudi,” Prince Farhan, 41, told The Independent.
“We have a perception on the judicial system, human rights, and accountability, but now we need to focus on the constitution, and struggle to help the Saudis in Europe.”
He said members of the ruling family, the Saud House, would remain diplomatic and symbolic heads of the country, such as the United Kingdom, but ultimately power would be in the hands of the people.
The idea was also inspired by the case of a 19-year-old Saudi girl, Rahaf al-Qanoun, who had to be holed up in an airport toilet in Bangkok in January, as she tried to flee (during a trip to Kuwait) from her family who had allegedly mistreated her.
She was eventually granted asylum in Canada, but after her case drew international attention by tweeting about her ordeal when Thai immigration police refused her entry.
Prince Khaled, who has been living in exile in Germany since 2007, said the group would provide legal and other support to citizens, so they would not have to rely on social media.