Saudi royal seeks coup to depose King Salman

Saudi royal seeks coup to depose King Salman

An exiled Saudi prince has called for a coup by his influential uncles to depose King Salman and prevent the current ruling structure led by his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, from doing more damage to the kingdom. Saudi King Salman appointed bin Salman as the first in line to the throne in a surprise move last June.


Prince Khaled bin Farhan, who has been awarded asylum in Germany, made the call on Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz and Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz in comments to the Middle East Eye news portal published on Monday.

He asked the duo to use the influence they wield with their fellow royals as well as with the military to bring about the palace coup.

Such a change, bin Farhan asserted, was imperative to salvage the kingdom from Salman’s “irrational, erratic, and stupid” tutelage.

Saudi King Salman appointed bin Salman as the first in line to the throne in a surprise move last June that saw the monarch ousting Crown Prince Muhammed bin Nayef, who had himself replaced Muqrin in 2015. 

Calling bin Salman’s meteoric rise to power into question, bin Farhan said, “If King Salman had been in a good state of health, things wouldn’t have reached this stage. When we see public policy in Saudi Arabia, we can see that King Salman is completely absent from the screen or from the political scene in Saudi Arabia.”

Send To Friend