British daily newspaper/tabloid, the Daily Mail is claiming in an exclusive expose that ‘American mercenaries are torturing’ the political enemies of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Saudi princes and billionaire businessmen arrested in a power grab earlier this month are being strung up by their feet and beaten by American private security contractors, a source in the country tells DailyMail.com.
Crown Prince Mohammed Bun Salman claims this anti-corruption campaign is aimed at restoring ‘progressive Islam’ and improving human rights.
The group of the country’s most powerful figures were arrested in a crackdown ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman three weeks ago as he ordered the detention of at least 11 fellow princes and hundreds of businessmen and government officials over claims of corruption.
Just last month, the Crown Prince vowed to restore ‘moderate, open Islam’ in the kingdom and relaxed a number of its ultra-conservative rules, including lifting a ban on women driving.
Few will dispute the undeniable evidence suggesting the current reform measures underway in Saudi Arabia present both positive and negative features.
The current status-quo political situation in Saudi Arabia is unsustainable. Blurring lines between the royal family’s wealthy and state enterprises have been a long-standing recipe for corruption.
The question is not really whether reform is needed, but what are the motivations and are the accused being given proper legal due processes?
DailyMail.com can disclose that the arrests have been followed by ‘interrogations’ which a source said were being carried out by ‘American mercenaries’ brought in to work for the 32-year-old crown prince, who is now the kingdom’s most powerful figure.
‘They are beating them, torturing them, slapping them, insulting them. They want to break them down,’ the source told DailyMail.com.
‘Blackwater’ has been named by DailyMail.com’s source as the firm involved, and the claim of its presence in Saudi Arabia has also been made on Arabic social media, and by Lebanon’s president.
The firm’s successor, Academi, strongly denies even being in Saudi Arabia and says it does not engage in torture, which it is illegal for any U.S. citizen to commit anywhere in the world.
The Saudi crown prince, according to the source, has also confiscated more than $194 billion from the bank accounts and seized assets of those arrested.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been reportedly hung upside to ‘send a message’ after being arrested on command of the Crown Prince. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is worth over $7 billion.
According to the sources listed in the original report, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (or MBS as he prefers to be called) is bypassing normal legal process to accomplish his ambitious anti-corruption initiatives.
Another way you could look at this is, would you care if a brave politician managed to side-step the corrupt DOJ and other federal agencies and arrest Hillary Clinton? Yes, you would probably think hiring a foreign agent to torture her would be wrong and support her due legal rights (if feeling mighty charitable that day). But, how much would you actually care that she was being made to forcibly fees-up to her wrong doings and pay-for-play money laundering?
The source said that in the febrile atmosphere in the kingdom, Prince Mohammed has bypassed the normal security forces in keeping the princes and other billionaires at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh.
‘All the guards in charge are private security because MBS (Mohammed Bin Salman) doesn’t want Saudi officers there who have been saluting those detainees all their lives,’ said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
‘Outside the hotels where they are being detained you see the armored vehicles of the Saudi special forces. But inside, it’s a private security company.
‘They’ve transferred all the guys from Abu Dhabi. Now they are in charge of everything,’ said the source.
The source said that Salman, often referred to by his initials MBS, is conducting some of the interrogations himself.
‘When it’s something big he asks them questions,’ the source said.
‘He speaks to them very nicely in the interrogation, and then he leaves the room, and the mercenaries go in. The prisoners are slapped, insulted, hung up, tortured.’
The source says the crown prince is desperate to assert his authority through fear and wants to uncover an alleged network of foreign officials who have taken bribes from Saudi princes.
The American private military company Blackwater, now known as Academi, vehemently denies the claim they are assisting with the Crown Prince with his anti-corruption commission.
But, if you think that means anything you’ve got a rock where your brain is supposed to be.
A spokesperson for Constellis, Academi’s parent company, denied the claims.
The spokesperson told DailyMail.com that it has no presence in Saudi Arabia and does not carry out interrogations.
‘Constellis through Academi does not now or have we ever provided interrogative services,’ they said.
‘We do not provide security services in KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), we have no contact or connection with any government official or private party regarding this allegation.’
When asked if Academi workers were involved in any kind of violence during these interrogations, the spokesperson said: ‘No. Academi has no presence in KSA. We do not have interrogators, nor do we provide any interrogators, advisors or other similar services.’
They added: ‘Academi does not participate in interrogative services for any government or private customer. Academi has a zero tolerance policy for violence. We operate legally, morally, ethically and in compliance with local and US laws.’
The name Blackwater, however, has previously surfaced in the Middle East in the wake of the round-up.
I am not going to tell you what to think about the anti-corruption campaign currently underway in Saudi Arabia. But if you think the answer is linear or simplex you’ve likely not adequately briefed yourself on this situation.
Time will tell if Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is going to at least attempt to add key components such as “transparency” and “accountability”. Otherwise, it will be nothing more than a ruthless power and asset grab.
However, few can argue that the Crown Prince is striving to bring his county into the 21st century, and ready itself for the end of oil. In addition, to being one of the few unexpected allies of Israel in the Middle East. They both currently share a common enemy.
To learn more about this unexpected alliance and the different ways it is being misconstrued by the Fake News Industrial Complex check out this great moderately even-handed article by Barry Dillinger on Saudi Arabia and Israeli relations.
Where this will all lead remains to be seen.
Source: Daily Mail, The New York Times , Fox News
Image: Presidency Maldives
Saudi has commandos ! They know how to do there dance .
Think again Bob!!
Good. They are NWO punks and radical muslims. Crown Prince Salman knows what he is doing.
It’s the Mideast they do anything they want. Unless you been there you wouldn’t understand. These people have been this way for centuries. Always friends enemies and power struggles.
What ?
Did they$#%&!@*with the temperature setting on the jacuzzi ?
Our swanp is not the only one being drained…….
Meh, they have it coming.. Remember 9/11…. All Saudis…