#Saudi actors who ordered #Khashoggi's death were aware he wanted his divorce paper, but hadn't anticipated his fiancee's call to Aktay which had some swift consequences. Turkish authorities searched one of the planes leaving with part of the murder team, but found nothing. /1
"Turkish intelligence agency MIT decided to review an audio-visual feed fr inside the consulate"... Grisly details ... suggest that Khashoggi was tortured then killed soon after entering the consulate" /2 cnn.com/2018/10/19/mid…
Had Hatice Cengiz not been there to call Aktay, the Turks wouldn't have suspected as soon as they did, that #Khashoggi had been killed. The info. about that clandestine AV feed was leaked over the week as the Saudis were swift to deny & slow to cooperate with the investigation./3
Saudi Twitter bots attacked Cengiz viciously, a law was passed to punish sedition on social media, meanwhile the West was just wrapping its head around the audacity of the murder. /4
Inside KSA, there is radio silence on #Khashoggi's case from - a senior journalist and editor; a leading woman journalist; in Saudi FB groups. Obviously everyone is afraid. Point made here that prior to MbS, there were channels for differences of opinion washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-t…
#Khashoggi's main danger to #MbS was:a) he insulted #Trump (mildly)
b) he was an insider & knows a great deal about inter-Saudi loyalties c) also understood #KSA's failures in regional policy & would likely have opposed Kushner's ME peace deal d)opposed torture & prison of others
b) he was an insider & knows a great deal about inter-Saudi loyalties c) also understood #KSA's failures in regional policy & would likely have opposed Kushner's ME peace deal d)opposed torture & prison of others
To those who can't understand the audacity of whomever ordered this hit and obtained a green light from MbS, you must understand it is foremost a #Saudi message to #SaudiArabians. Think of the purpose of public executions. Deterrence. #Khashoggi
Royal court is upset; some rumors that #Khalid bin Salman might be appointed as the deputy crown prince. MbS would remain as crown prince unless a larger faction w/i al-Sa'ud family change their stance. Post-Ritz-Carlton too many fear him.
Also rumors that #US wants to weigh in on that decision. Well, the US is NOT part of the succession process; but of course it is heavily influential - a condition resented by some.
Reportedly, some princes insisted to meet with MbS and/or with each other and these meetings were held clandestinely. When news was floated that MbS would accuse al-Asiri, some were shocked that MbS would try to quickly shift blame from himself & increased their anxiety.
Saud al-Qahtani hasn't been seen at his office since Oct. 9. He was active on Twitter, now someone else is supposed to be managing his Twitter account.
@threadreaderapp please unroll
this thread so far - but I have a little more to say!
#Saudi succession process was changed in recent years; these changes, and the weakness of previous Crown Prince, allowed for the appointment of MbS which was a leap to the next generation. Key is to understand that
al-Sa'ud family need to maintain unity, or the entire basis of their rule could be shaken. That was done through family councils during other periods of turmoil. If deputy Crown Prince appointed, then you might also expect some other purges of figures close to MbS up to now.
Also to mention the red herring Saudi bots (& others) threw out linking Khashoggi to Muslim Brotherhood. MB were not political enemies in KSA until recently; many are/were w/i the educational system & a strand influenced neo-salafis. MB from Egypt & Syria fled to KSA decades
ago & they are in govt. & educational positions in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan (their cousins in Morocco, Gaza, Tunisia). One journo claimed Khashoggi was MB "in the 70s" - he was ages 11 to 21 then, and then left. He has associates & friends who are in various groups.
they are anti-corruption, and in more recent decades, pro-democracy (as their support base enlarged). But it's a mistake to see this as a Qatar/Turkey or MB plot or to see such a sharp division in the region. No, Jamal was a loyal Saudi,
who did not oppose the al-Sa'ud's rule, but he had to stand up to some of its current actions - imprisonment and torture of activists, kidnappings, suppression of the press. A new Deputy Crown Prince won't fix these problems.
