Where is Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan? 20, January 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Saudi Arabia.Tags: Missing Saudi Prince, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Prince Bandar missing, Prince missing
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There’s a rumor floating around which I’d like to propagate some more insisting that Saudi Arabia’s former 22 year-long serving Ambassador to America, Prince Bandar bin Sultan has disappeared. The London Review of Books blog has more on it but here’s a brief summary.
- Unreliable Iranian media sources suggested that he had been arrested for plotting a coup of sorts
- Others suggest that he’s ill or has been ordered to silence for meddling without approval in Syria
- The hugely reliably (…) Saudi opposition sources maintain that Bandar is in Dhaban Prison in Jeddah. This is, according to the LRB blog, a high security facility where Bandar and 4 generals are being held in a separate wing
- Bandar has missed many important engagements since his last public outing in December 2008 in including missing his official reswearing in as National Security Council head in September last year – a ceremony which traditionally entails pledging allegiance to the King
- The key issue is, however, that he missed the homecoming of his father, Prince Sultan, from extended recuperation and medical care abroad in December 2009.
Update: here
Update of the update: he’s alive!