Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Saudi Arabia detains in-law of ex-top intelligence agent: Family

Saudi Arabia detains in-law of ex-top intelligence agent: Family

Salem Almuzaini has been arrested in 'obvious attempt to intimidate and blackmail' exiled Saad al-Jabri, family says.

Saudi Arabia has detained another relative of Saad al-Jabri, a former top intelligence agent who recently filed a lawsuit in a US court accusing the kingdom's crown prince of plotting to assassinate him, his family has said.

Saudi authorities had already detained al-Jabri's two adult children and brother in March to try to force his return to the kingdom from exile in Canada, according to reports citing the family and sources with knowledge of the situation.

Al-Jabri was an aide to former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was replaced as heir to the throne by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in a 2017 palace coup.

In June, Reuters news agency, citing four people with knowledge of the matter, reported that al-Jabri has access to sensitive information that MBS fears could be compromising.

Khalid al-Jabri, Saad's son, tweeted a statement on Wednesday which said his brother-in-law, Salem Almuzaini, was summoned on Monday to a Saudi state security office in Riyadh where he was arrested. He has not been seen or heard from since.


"Salem's arrest is an obvious attempt to intimidate and blackmail my father," the statement said.

"My father filed a lawsuit this month against MBS and two dozen others in US District Court in response to their thwarted efforts to assassinate my father and terrorise my family. Salem's arrest is a blatant attempt by MBS to interfere with the US judicial process."

Al-Jabri, who has lived in Canada since late 2017, earlier this month alleged in a lawsuit filed in US federal court in the District of Columbia that MBS sent a hit squad to kill him in 2018 but that the effort was foiled by Canadian authorities.

The alleged incident took place less than two weeks after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, sparking a global furore.



Several intelligence agencies, including the CIA, have reportedly concluded that MBS ordered Khashoggi's killing - accusations that Riyadh has denied.

MBS has denied ordering Khashoggi's murder but said he ultimately bore "full responsibility" as the kingdom's de facto leader.

Riyadh has not commented publicly on al-Jabri's lawsuit. Earlier this month, MBS was issued a summons by the Columbia court - a summons is an official notice of a lawsuit, given to the person or people being sued.

In his statement on Wednesday, Khalid al-Jabri said Almuzaini had in 2017 been renditioned by Saudi authorities from the United Arab Emirates, but was released in January 2018 after his savings were seized and he was placed under a travel ban.

He urged for Almuzaini's release as well as his siblings Sarah and Omar, who "have been held incommunicado in Saudi since March because our father rebuffed MBS's demands that he return to The Kingdom".

Bin Nayef himself was detained on March 6 along with two other senior royals in what is widely believed to be the latest in a series of extraordinary measures by MBS to sideline rivals and remove perceived threats to his eventual succession as king.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×