Secret rebellion of tribal leaders threatens Mohammed bin Salman’s rule

Saudi security sources revealed a secret rebellion of tribal leaders threatening to expose the repression practised by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The sources told Saudi Leaks about a rebellion movement led by tribe members who refused the arrest of prominent scholars and preachers in the Kingdom.

The sources pointed out that these people encouraged the sons of prisoners of conscience to appear publicly and expose the oppression in the Kingdom.

The sources indicated that this step comes after tribal leaders found that public pressure on the Saudi authorities is achieving results.

The sources revealed that tribal leaders allowed members to infiltrate through Saudi security apparatuses to facilitate the escape of political prisoners from the prison.

The same sources pointed out that Nasser bin Awad Al-Qarni’s recent exit from the Kingdom was arranged and coordinated with a group of officers who rejected the government’s policies towards detainees and scholars, as these officers coordinated among themselves (each according to his position), and facilitated the man’s exit.

After leaving the Kingdom, Nasser Al-Qarni, son of the famous preacher Awad Al-Qarni, revealed that he had received threats from the Saudi authorities of imprisonment and personal targeting if he demanded his father’s freedom. The latter has been detained for more than four years.

Bloomberg Agency published a report stating that Nasser Al-Qarni asserts that his life is in danger and that he has requested asylum in Britain after his recent decision from the Kingdom.

The agency quoted Nasser Al-Qarni as saying that Saudi state security officials warned him against imprisonment or execution if he criticized the authorities’ treatment of his detained father, Awad Al-Qarni.

He explained that state security officials interrogated him several times, wanted him to adopt their version of his father’s arrest, and told him that he was prohibited from leaving Saudi Arabia.

A few days ago, Nasser Awad Al-Qarni announced his escape outside the Kingdom and access to a “safe place” to “defend his father and detainees” in his country.

In a video clip posted on his Twitter account, Al-Qarni’s son confirmed that he left Saudi Arabia to defend his father, “the detainee whom the Public Prosecution is calling for his execution to save what can be saved in his country.”

Nasser said in the video clip, “I know that the speech inside may result in the arrest, and he was arrested even while I was silent only because I am the son of Dr. Awad Al-Qarni,” adding, “We inside have exhausted all means to release my father and stop the unjust injustice he has been subjected to.”

He continued: “More demands to stop violations mean an inevitable fate of arrest and abuse. I came out to save what can be saved in my country from supporting detainees and lifting injustice from my father, who is threatened with death.”.

He concluded the video by saying, “Unfortunately, I announce that I am outside my country. Like all young people, I dreamed of expressing my opinion while I was in my country.”

On September 12, 2017, the Saudi authorities arrested Al-Qarni as part of a arrests campaign targeting several intellectuals, preachers and activists.

The Saudi authorities level several accusations against Al-Qarni, including “supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, inciting to fight in areas of conflict and sedition, inciting insults to leaders of other countries… and other accusations.”

Human Rights Watch said in a September 2017 report that the arrests of al-Qarni and other clerics “fit into a pattern of human rights abuses against defenders and peaceful dissidents, including harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns, travel bans, detention, and prosecution.”