Fox Media: Mohammed bin Salman is one of the world’s most brutal leaders

Fox Media attacked Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, describing him as one of the world’s most brutal leaders under his repressive policies and attack on an authoritarian rule.

Fox Media said that bin Salman convinced thought leaders in the United States at the beginning of his rise to power thanks to his father, the king in 2017, of his plans to modernize the conservative Kingdom, but he soon became one of the world’s most brutal leaders.

The website pointed out that the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 is a good example of Bin Salman representing tyranny, not reform, in Saudi Arabia.

The website indicated that Mohammed bin Salman’s abuses accumulated with the kidnapping of a Lebanese prime minister, the detention and extortion of the Saudi elite, and the increasing repression of human rights activists and peaceful opponents.

The website highlighted that the pace of critics’ arrests accelerated before the assassination of Khashoggi and Mohammed bin Salman’s responsibility for war crimes in the ongoing military campaign in Yemen.

It stressed that the leadership of Mohammed bin Salman had not made any progress in the human rights file in Saudi Arabia since the arrival of President Joe Biden, who promised measures to resolve this file.

The site stated that some aspects of life under bin Salman, such as the scenes of men and women attending concerts together, do not represent reform.

It cautioned that these scenes the Crown Prince tried to promote by regularly imprisoning or killing his peaceful opponents and targeting female activists and activists in the field of defending human rights in the Kingdom.

A few days ago, the New York Times highlighted the deliberate suppression of the royal family in Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to monopolize power and consolidate the rule with repression.

This came in the context of the newspaper’s comment on the Saudi authorities’ recent release of a Saudi princess, criticizing her country’s government, who had been imprisoned about three years ago after she publicly questioned the government’s policy.

The newspaper reported that Princess Basma bint Saud returned to her home last Thursday with her daughter, Suhoud Al-Sharif, who was imprisoned with her.

But it remains unclear whether the princess and her daughter will be allowed to travel abroad, which is an urgent issue because Princess Basma needs medical care unavailable in the Kingdom due to a heart condition, a legal adviser said.

Princess Basma was among a number of prominent Saudi activists, dissidents and members of the royal family who were imprisoned or placed under house arrest during the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has consolidated his grip on the Kingdom since his father, King Salman ascended the throne in 2015.

And Mohammed bin Salman is one of the most divisive rulers in Saudi history.

His rise to power was marred by disastrous military intervention in Yemen and a disregard for human rights, including the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

The detentions of figures such as Princess Basma have fueled this criticism.

Among those arrested were women fighting for the right to drive, granted in 2018, and members of the royal family whom bin Salman viewed as obstacles on his way to the throne.

Some detainees have been released, but many remain banned from travelling abroad, apparently because the Saudi authorities are afraid to discuss their cases with foreign journalists or representatives of other governments.

According to their aides, several prominent people, including the two sons of former King Abdullah, remain in detention, and information about the mistreatment of some detainees is still emerging.

It also stands out from the detainees of the princes of the ruling family, Muhammad bin Nayef, the former interior minister whom bin Salman removed from the position of the crown prince in 2017 to obtain the title for himself.

After his removal, Muhammad bin Nayef was placed under house arrest until March 2020, when he was arrested and detained.

At the start of his detention, Muhammad bin Nayef was held in solitary confinement, and was deprived of sleep upside down by the ankles, according to two people briefed on his condition, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.

Last fall, he was moved to a villa inside the compound surrounding Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh’s capital, where he remains, diplomatic sources said.

A source said that Mohammed bin Nayef is being held without television or other electronic devices and receives only limited visits from his family. He appears to have sustained permanent damage to his ankles due to his treatment in detention and is unable to walk without a crutch.

The Saudi government did not file formal charges against Muhammad bin Nayef and did not explain the reason for his detention. Most Saudi experts assume that the reason for this is that Mohammed bin Salman fears bin Nayef will hinder him as the next Saudi king.

Princess Basma, 58, who was released with her daughter last week, did not hold a government position and had no authority.

Princess Basma, the youngest daughter of King Saud, the second king of Saudi Arabia, has spent most of her time in London and occasionally presents opinions about Saudi Arabia to the media, which is rare for the royal family, especially women.

In March 2019, the police arrested Princess Basma and her 30-year-old daughter from their home in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

A legal source said that the two women were charged with unspecified “criminal crimes” and were held in Al-Ha’ir prison, near Riyadh, but that they were not formally charged with any crimes.