Pressure has increased on Saudi Arabia to release Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz and his father, who have been detained for nearly two years without being charged, and this pressure has been reinforced recently by the efforts of a US $ 2 million pressure group and petitions from European parliamentarians.

Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz and his father have been arrested since January 2018, as part of a campaign of arrests of members of the royal family, under the supervision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as an indication of the Crown Prince's attempt to tighten his grip on power by excluding his strongest potential opponents.

His arrest came in the context of arbitrary arrests in a dangerous version of what some see as a "game of thrones", which also affected the relatives of Saad al-Jabri, who also served as assistant to the former Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, who is also detained, and the senior intelligence official who fled to Canada, and he is familiar with the state secrets .

But Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, 37, who is fluent in several languages ​​and graduated from the Sorbonne University in Paris, had no political ambition, and was known to finance development projects in poor countries.

An aide to the prince told the French Press Agency, "This is not just an unlawful arrest (...) This is a daytime kidnapping and forced disappearance."

After holding him for about a year in Al-Hayer prison near Riyadh, and then in a private villa with his father, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Prince Salman was transferred to a secret detention site last March, according to several sources confirmed to Agence France-Presse.

Three sources stated that he was mysteriously returned to the villa last week, as it remains unclear why he was taken to the secret location. According to the sources, Saudi intelligence is monitoring his phone calls to his family.

But his return may be a first indication of the success of international pressure for his release. The Saudi authorities did not respond to a request for comment on this issue.

Compression campaign

In the latest pressures, according to the files submitted to the US Department of Justice, and reviewed by the French Press Agency; The Robert Sonic Group, one of the main pressure moguls in Washington, signed a contract worth $ 2 million last May to call for the emir’s release, “with the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the European Union.”

Strech has close ties to the administration of US President Donald Trump; An ally of the Saudi crown prince.

According to the contract, the one who hired him is Hashem Mughal, an aide to Prince Salman who lives in Paris.

One of the sources described Mughal, who is Pakistani, as having previously held the position of financial advisor to the prince, and raised two million dollars of his own money, and by resorting to the prince's friends.

A delegation of the European Parliament had appealed to the Saudi authorities to release the detained princes - including Prince Salman - during a visit to Riyadh last February, according to a source and an initial report on the tour seen by the French Press Agency.

"The European Parliament has already requested information on the issue in a letter (...) addressed to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman," wrote Rep. Mark Trabella, who is deputy head of the parliamentary delegation for relations with the Arabian Peninsula, to the European Commission. He pointed out that the message is still without any response.

"I would like to ask you to raise this issue (...) with the highest relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia, and demand the release of Prince Salman. I will be confident that his release will positively affect the relations between the European Parliament and Saudi Arabia."

While the appeals are not answered, the campaign may be the only glimmer of hope at a time when the Kingdom is going through an economic recession due to the emerging Corona virus, in addition to concern in Washington about the policies of Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

"Game of Thrones"

Last March, the Saudi authorities also arrested King Salman's brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the nephew of the king, former Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, for accusing them of organizing a "coup" to topple the crown prince.

Two of Saad al-Jabri's children and his brother were also detained. Al-Jabri previously held a senior assistant position to Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, while a source close to the family described the detainees as "victims of the game of thrones in Saudi Arabia."

Al-Jabri, who had gone to Canada earlier, tried to urge his children to leave Saudi Arabia, but the authorities prevented them from traveling, according to the source.

Princess Basma Bint Saud, who is close to Prince Muhammad bin Nayef with her daughter, was also detained in Al-Hayer prison for a year without any charge.

Her family lost contact with her after making a rare public appeal via Twitter for her release from prison last April, the source said.

But the arrest of Prince Salman is the most confusing because his non-political and charitable work does not make him a competitor to the Saudi crown prince.

It may be the prince's meeting with Democratic Party member Adam Schiff, a Trump critic, before the 2016 US elections. The Royal Court disturbed.

But his aides assert that nothing political has been touched or discussed.

Schiff's office told Agence France-Presse that the MP does not remember the details of the conversation, but that they may have spoken "about Saudi Arabia in general."

"Those who pushed for this arrest seriously misunderstood American policy," said Kristen Fontenrose - a former White House official responsible for policy toward Saudi Arabia -.

"The imprisonment of one of them for a meeting with a well-known Democrat will make it difficult for Trump to maintain close ties with the ruling family in Saudi Arabia before the US elections," she added.

"This could have a negative impact on the kingdom if the Democrats lead the next administration," Fontenrose said.