- Frank Gardner
- BBC security correspondent
1 hour ago
Queen Elizabeth II’s meeting with Prince Mohammed bin Salman before the Khashoggi murder
Human rights activists protested Britain’s invitation to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the de facto ruler in Saudi Arabia – to participate in the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
A previously published report by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) revealed that Mohammed bin Salman approved the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul in 2018.
The Saudi crown prince and his government have denied the allegations, but he is seen as a pariah in the West and has not visited Britain since. Until now.
A spokesman for the Saudi embassy confirmed that the crown prince would be in London over the weekend, but did not confirm that he would attend the funeral on Monday.
Khadija Cengiz, Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée, said bin Salman’s invitation was a disgrace to the memory of Queen Elizabeth II.
She called for his arrest upon his arrival in London, although she doubted that such a thing would happen.
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade accused Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies of using the queen’s funeral as a way to “whitewash” their human rights records, the pressure group said.
The group estimates that Britain has sold more than $23 billion in arms to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen since the start of the war there.
Political freedoms have also disappeared completely since Mohammed bin Salman became crown prince in 2017. In addition, heavy prison sentences have been issued once morest government critics, albeit for mere social media posts.
Ironically, at the same time, the Saudi crown prince embarked on a massive program of social liberation. Cinemas and public entertainment, long banned in the kingdom, reopened because they were “not Islamic.”
Women are now allowed to drive at the direction of Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The kingdom has hosted international sports and music events, including a concert by DJ David Guetta.
Saudi Arabia, despite its highly criticized human rights record, remains a staunch ally of Britain in the Gulf, and is seen by the West as a bulwark once morest Iranian expansion in the region.
Saudi Arabia buys Western weapons, employs thousands of migrant workers, hosts the annual Hajj, and helps stabilize oil prices. All of this partly explains why international criticism of the crown prince is often silenced.
