Saudi Arabia’s King Salman ordered the arrest of a prince and his associates after videos emerged which appear to show the prince engaging in abusive behaviour against citizens.
In the footage, which was published on YouTube, the young and low-level prince can be seen pointing a weapon toward one man and slapping another victim. Other clips appear to show bottles of whisky in a possible violation of the country’s alcohol consumption and sales ban.
King Salman’s arrest warrant came as hundreds of thousands had already viewed the videos online, spreading it under an Arabic hashtag which can be translated as “prince transgresses on citizens.”
The wide online circulation of the clips put pressure on the country’s leadership to prosecute the prince, Saudi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, especially because King Salman had previously emphasised that he generally considers citizens’ rights to be of higher value than the protection of Royals’ privileges.
Although Saudi princes receive a monthly allowance and hold a special status, they can be prosecuted by courts. The most serious reminder that royals may be privileged but not sacrosanct came in October when one prince was executed after being found guilty of fatally shooting a man in 2013.
King Salman urged Saudis to report other possible cases of abuse of power to authorities.
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