Ex-Saudi official sues crown prince

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A former top Saudi counterterrorism official has filed a federal lawsuit in the United States against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, alleging the royal tried to trap and kill him in the U.S. and Canada.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, by Saad Aljabri is the latest effort by the former intelligence official to try and bring about international and public pressure on the crown prince, following years of silence in exile abroad.

Aljabri’s lawsuit claims the crown prince has detained two of his children in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to force him back to the kingdom because of the sensitive information he knows regarding the inner workings of the royal court and kingdom’s leadership. It also alleges that the prince’s efforts to kill him continue to this day.

Attempts by Saudi Arabia to forcibly return certain citizens who reside abroad began attracting global attention after the killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed by Saudi agents who worked for the crown prince.

Khashoggi was slain inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey in an operation the Saudis claim was initially an effort to forcibly bring him back to Saudi Arabia.

The crown prince denies he had any knowledge of the operation, but Western intelligence agencies and the U.S. Senate have declared the prince ultimately responsible for Khashoggi’s killing.

The formerly powerful prince was detained in March along with others by bin Sal-man’s forces, but he has yet to face formal charges.

That is also when two of Aljabri’s children were reportedly detained, after earlier being barred from traveling abroad.

Both Aljabri and his former boss had worked closely with the CIA in counterterrorism operations, and are well-known among intelligence officials in Washington.

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