Updated 3 hours ago
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz performed a colonoscopy in a hospital in Jeddah, where doctors decided to keep him for rest, according to a statement by the royal court carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
The statement said that the 86-year-old king had a colonoscopy on Sunday at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah, and his result came out healthy, and that the doctors decided to keep him there for some time to rest.
The Saudi monarch changed his pacemaker battery in March and had his gallbladder removed in 2020.
His son, Mohammed bin Salman, is the de facto ruler of the country, since his appointment as crown prince in 2017.
Salman became king in 2015, following spending two and a half years as Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia denied reports at the time that King Salman had abdicated power to his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Since assuming the throne, Prince Mohammed has launched ambitious projects aimed at diversifying the kingdom’s economy and reducing dependence on oil revenues.
Bin Salman eased some of the restrictions imposed on women in the country, such as preventing them from driving, licensing the establishment of entertainment parties and festivals, and opening cinemas, which were prohibited.
But his name was also associated with the war in Yemen and the suppression of opponents of his policies, including human rights defenders, journalists and political activists, led by journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
