Instead of improving his people's living situation, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) continues to spend billions of dollars hosting major entertainment, cultural, and sporting events as a deliberate strategy to deflect his image as a pervasive human rights violator. This huge spending on unreal projects, while Saudi Arabia's unemployment and poverty rate continue to rise, sparks widespread controversy in the Kingdom.
Well-informed sources affirmed that the Saudi security forces violently stormed the family house of Rabih bin Shleweh Alenezi, a prominent colonel in Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Public Security, after he announced his defection in a video he posted to his Twitter account, in which he cited violations of human rights in the Kingdom.
Alenezi posted to his Twitter account photos of his passport and military ID to prove his military position.
In a series of tweet, Alenezi launched a fierce attack against the Saudi regime and its reckless policies against the citizens.
He also pointed out to the high unemployment rates in the Saudi kingdom and the difficult economic situation that pushed many youths to commit suicide.
He charged that “the biggest threat to the Saudi security and society is Muhammad bin Salman.”
Alenezi called on the Saudi government to stop suppressing and intimidating citizens, and to cancel the Presidency of the Saudi State Security which was created in 2017 by combining the counterterrorism and domestic intelligence services under one roof.
On the other hand, a prominent Saudi cleric who was feared to have been detained has apparently left the Kingdom for a “safe” country, after criticising the government's radical reforms in the entertainment sphere.
Sheikh Emad Al-Moubayed – a preacher and former imam at the King Abdulaziz Mosque in Dammam – posted a video on his unverified Twitter account last week, in which he warned against drastic social reforms in Saudi Arabia enacted over recent years.
Directing his “advice to the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, his trustworthy Crown Prince [Mohammed bin Salman], and Advisor Turki Al-Sheikh [the Entertainment Authority chief]”, he called on the authorities to “fear God” in implementing social changes which are “erasing the Islamic faith, and replacing the identity of Islam with other identities”.
The next day, however, Al-Moubayed posted a new video in which he clarified his comments, while reading from a piece of paper on the table in front of him, seemingly back-tracking on his criticism in a scene which some speculated he was forced to read in custody.
“Some people may have misunderstood what I mentioned in my previous words and clip … I would like to clarify and affirm that our country, its leadership, and its people are enjoying great prosperity, security and safety and development”, he said at that time.
The hashtag #WhereIsEmadMoubayed since trended, particularly after Saudi authorities said on Monday that they detained a man for breaching cybercrime laws. Contrary to concerns over his potential detention, however, a Twitter account attributed to Al-Moubayed yesterday published a post assured that he had not been detained and had, instead, fled. “By the grace of God, I was able to leave the country and reach a safe country, praise be to God”, stated the account allegedly used by him.
