Saudi King most probably dead, or on deathbed: Whistleblower

The whistleblower noted that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will issue a statement on behalf of his father to declare the King's abdication and declare Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud as his successor.

New Delhi: Twitter activist and Saudi whistleblower Mujtahid has claimed that King Salman of Saudi Arabia is most probably dead or is currently on his deathbed, an Iranian media report said.

His comments came on Saturday after news that Saudi authorities had detained two of the kingdom's most prominent figures for an alleged coup attempt.

In a Twitter post on Saturday, Mujtahid, the Twitter handle of a pseudonymous activist, explained that tens of people from the royal family had been detained and not only the King's brother Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, and the monarch's nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.

The court staff, the royal palace personnel, and the royal guard members have been told that visiting the king is impossible due to his health condition, Mujtahid added.

The whistleblower also noted that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will issue a statement on behalf of his father to declare the King's abdication and declare MBS as his successor.

Citing unnamed sources, Wall Street Journal had reported on Friday that Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef were taken from their homes early on Friday by royal guards on treason charges.

The New York Times also reported the detentions, adding that Prince Nayef's younger brother Prince Nawaf bin Nayef had also been detained.

(With inputs from IANS)