Ex-Spy Chief’s Daughter Says Saudis Tried to Lure Her to Consulate in Istanbul
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Representatives of the Saudi government tried to lure the daughter of the kingdom's former intelligence chief to its consulate in Turkey where Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in 2018.
Hissah Al-Muzaini told CNN on Wednesday that Saudi officials pushed her to go to the "consulate in Istanbul. They tried to encourage me to go there."
"I'm lucky I didn't go or else my kids wouldn't have a mum and dad," Al-Muzaini added.
Al-Muzaini pointed out that her family had previously reported these allegations in a civil lawsuit filed earlier this year.
The Saudi government has not responded to the claims.
Al-Muzaini's father, Saad Al Jabri is embroiled in a lawsuit with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and claims the royal sent a hit squad to kill him in Canada, where he lives in exile. He also claims MBS is holding his children hostage in Saudi in an effort to force Al Jabri to return.
The former official told CBS on Sunday that Bin Salman had "wrongly imprisoned" two of his children, Sarah and Omar, and charged them with "money laundering and attempting to escape", Human Rights Watch has described the move as an "unfair trial that was an apparent effort to coerce Aljabri to return to Saudi Arabia."
During her interview, Al-Muzaini said that her husband was also "abducted."
"We live in fear. We always look over our shoulders. We don't feel safe," Al-Muzaini stressed, noting that she did not know how she could "feel safe when people like this are chasing family members and sending hit squads and killing people in embassies and consulates."
A close ally of former Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef, Al Jabri fled the kingdom following a "soft-coup" that saw MBS replace his older cousin as crown prince. Concerns have been raised over the safety of Bin Nayef since his removal as crown prince.
