Saudi aide accused of directing Khashoggi murder edges back to power

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Saudi aide accused of directing Khashoggi murder edges back to power

Saud al-Qahtani, aide to Mohammed bin Salman, hailed as patriot on pro-government social media

Martin Chulov Middle East correspondent
Fri 8 Oct 2021 18.29 BST

Three years after the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi royal court adviser accused of directing the murder is being quietly reintroduced by pro-government influencers as a patriotic figure who has served his country well.

Social media accounts that back the Saudi leadership have in recent months been posting tributes to Saud al-Qahtani, a chief aide to crown prince and Saudi Arabia’s effective leader, Mohammed bin Salman, in a move that is seen as marking his gradual return to the seat of Saudi power. Qahtani vanished from public view in the aftermath of the gruesome killing in Istanbul that shocked the world and almost derailed his boss’s path to the throne.

The close friend of bin Salman has also been seen in the royal court, from where he is accused of planning one of modern history’s most brutal assassinations inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which was caught in graphic detail on listening devices planted by Turkish spies. “He looks very nervous, almost paranoid,” said one official who has seen Qahtani. “He is still trying to keep a low profile.”

Accounts of Qahtani’s re-emergence come as Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund takes formal control of Newcastle United football club after finalising a contentious takeover deal that has been staunchly opposed by human rights groups. The £300m deal is the country’s first major acquisition of a foreign team and biggest foray yet into global sports.

Qahtani’s whereabouts had been the subject of intense speculation since he disappeared from view in late 2018. The CIA and MI6 both believe he had been the central figure in the plot which saw Khashoggi, a former royal court insider turned critic, butchered inside the consulate by a team of government hitmen that he is accused of assembling.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/08/saudi-aide-accused-of-directing-khashoggi-moves-closer-back-to-power

[RockRaven]

1. If the guy at the top responsible for it remains in power, then of course his lackeys will too

[secondwind]

2. Trump handled this terribly. He is partly to blame for this

POS being accepted back into the fold.