children of ex-Saudi official missing since March
The family of a former senior Saudi intelligence official
have told of their anguish over the disappearance of two of his adult children
in Riyadh, in what has been described to the Guardian as an act of vengeance by
the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to force the official’s return from
exile.
The disappearance of Omar and Sarah Aljabri, son and
daughter of Saad and Nadyah Aljabri, in March showed how Saudi’s de facto ruler
had used the children of his perceived enemies against them, said Khalid
Aljabri, the siblings’ older brother.
Their father, Saad Aljabri, 61, is a retired intelligence
official who was the longtime right-hand man of Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the
former crown prince who was deposed when Prince Mohammed became crown prince.
Sarah and Omar disappeared 10 days after Mohammed bin Nayef was arrested this
year.
In an interview with the Guardian, Khalid Aljabri, now
living in Canada, disclosed new details about the plight of his siblings, who,
unbeknown to the public until recently, were among the first victims of Prince
Mohammed’s purges, he said.
Their ordeal began on the day Prince Mohammed became crown
prince in 2017, said Khalid.
“A lot of people know about the September purge when he came
for the intellectuals, and the Ritz Carlton, and Loujain [al-Hathloul] and the
driving advocates, and Jamal Khashoggi and every other person in between. But
the first purge was Omar and Sarah,” he said.
From the start, the true target of Prince Mohammed’s actions
seemed to be Saad Aljabri, a man he is said to have believed represented a
serious threat.
Aljabri has long had close ties to western intelligence
agencies and was lauded for transforming the kingdom’s intelligence
capabilities after the 9/11 attacks. In a profile in the Washington Post, he
was praised by former CIA directors and British officials and described as a
“hero” who had saved countless lives in operations against al-Qaida in the
Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Aljabri was in Prince Mohammed’s crosshairs for various
reasons, including his opposition to the prince’s decision to wage war in
Yemen. Press accounts have also quoted Saudi rumours that Aljabri stole from
the kingdom and has secret allegiances with the Muslim Brotherhood. The family
staunchly deny the claims.
“We have evidence to prove that any allegations are
politically motivated. We would welcome any legal challenge. And how does any
such allegation justify kidnapping two children?” Khalid said.
The Saudi embassy in Washington declined to comment.
For Saudi watchers, the arrests are part of an intriguing
power struggle that has pitted Saudi’s ruler against his perceived enemies. But
for the Aljabri family, the disappearances are a personal disaster.
The family’s entanglement with Prince Mohammed began in
2017. Saad Aljabri had already fled the kingdom in the hope – according to
Khalid – of steering clear of what the family has called the Game of Thrones-style
jockeying between Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed bin Nayef.
Sarah and Omar were the only members of the family – six
brothers and two sisters in total – who had stayed behind as they waited for
their US student visas to be approved.
According to the family’s account, Mohammed bin Salman
reached out to Saad Aljabri days before he became crown prince and sought to
convince him to return, saying he was needed and would be promoted.
Aljabri was suspicious of the offer. He stalled and said he
would return in a matter of weeks. When Prince Mohammed assumed the role of
crown prince days later, Khalid and his family urged Sarah and Omar to get out.
“What we did is told the kids to take their passports and go
to the airport,” Khalid said.
Omar, who was 18 at the time, was let through security with
an exit stamp. But authorities stopped Sarah and told her she was banned from
travelling for “security reasons”.
“Omar said ‘I cannot leave her’,” Khalid said. Then came the
news that Omar was banned, too. Prince Mohammed had been announced as the new
crown prince just an hour earlier.
“The guy’s first order was banning a couple of kids from
travel. It tells you what intention he had with my dad,” said Khalid. “We did
not know if it was a temporary measure or if it was going to last forever.”
In a direct communication from Prince Mohammed in September
2017, Saad Aljabri was told that he would have to return to Saudi if he wanted
his children to be allowed to travel.
Saad Aljabri and his wife headed for Canada while Omar and
Sarah stayed in Riyadh and returned to their school.
Sarah is described by her brother as a studious and shy
young woman who doted on her father when she was growing up, never missing a
chance to have breakfast with him. Khalid said Omar is strong-willed and “wise
beyond his age”, always keen to try to win an argument and always the centre of
a party.
The distance took its toll. “Throughout that time, we were
still pursuing peaceful mediation but our lives were totally different. At
every lunch and dinner, every birthday, seats were always empty,” Khalid said.
Nadyah Aljabri would spend hours on the phone with her
teenage daughter, often calling late at night as Sarah was waking up in Riyadh,
and nudging her to get to school on time.
“The only comfort we had were calls and texts and video
calls. My mom would spend at least two hours a day on the phone with Sarah,”
Khalid said.
This year, on 6 March, the family gathered for a video call
to celebrate Sarah’s 20th birthday. Khalid recalled how Sarah had been pleased
with her card, signed by the whole family, and a present – a new bracelet –
which she dangled for the camera. It was the last time he saw her.
It was on that day that Mohammed bin Nayef and other
prominent Saudis were arrested, and Omar and Sarah were summoned to meet state
security officials.
At the meeting a few days later, the siblings were pressured
to try to convince their father to return to Saudi.
“Sarah was scared,” Khalid said. “She told her cousins she
was scared but did not want to tell my mom. She felt from that meeting that
they were going to be arrested.”
When Nadyah tried to call on 16 March, Sarah’s phone was
turned off.
Witnesses called to describe what they had seen: dozens of
cars and officials had arrived at the house in Riyadh early that morning and
taken the siblings.
Neither Sarah, 20, nor Omar, 21, have been heard from since
that day in mid-March.
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