On Saturday, Khalid Bin Farhan said “With pride, I announce my defection from al-Saudi family in Saudi Arabia… This regime in Saudi Arabia does not stand by God’s rules or even [the country’s] established rules and its policies, decisions and actions are totally based on [the] personal will of its leaders.”
He also slammed the royal family as well as the leaders in the kingdom, saying “All that is said in Saudi Arabia about respecting law and religion rules is factitious, so that they can lie and pretend that the regime obeys Islamic rules.”
The prince went on to say that the royal family has rejected all calls for reform by people’s representatives and used violence as well as suppression against them.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, mainly its Eastern Province, has been witnessing anti-regime protests on an almost daily basis since February 2011.
The primary demands of the protesters were the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.
However, the demonstrations turned into protests against the repressive Al Saud regime, especially after November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the province.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter, with the black gold accounting for 90 percent of the country’s exports, but it struggles with problems such as poverty and unemployment.
Behind the curtain: Why Saudi prince deserted family
Mujtahid Bin Hareth Bin Hammaam, nicknamed the “Julian Assange” of Saudi Arabia for revealing information about Saudi royal family, revealed recently that Prince Khalid Bin Farhan has defected from his family and joined the opposition.
Continuing his story in his recent leaks he said, Khalid Bin Farhan was a member of the Al Saud family and three generations of his ancestors had participated in late Saudi king Abdulaziz’s wars, but none of his family members have ever been raised to an official position in the government.
“Problems first emerged when Khalid’s father, Farhan bin Abdulaziz al-Farhan was put under pressure by Prince Salman, preventing him from travelling abroad. The reason behind these pressures was Farhan al-Farhan’s refusal to let Prince Salman interfere in his family business,” @Mujtahidd wrote in his tweeter account.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is the Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Saudi Arabia.
“Pressures and limitations disappointed Farhan al-Farhan, and finally these bans led to his complete isolation… but some of his sons and daughters broke their ban and migrated from the country. This made Salman plan for forcing them return and put their father under more pressure,” he wrote.
According to Mujtahidd, the crown prince failed to force Khalid go back to the kingdom but was able to make his sister, who was a dentist, return home. She is since under house arrest up until now.
The Saudi leaker said Prince Salman who found out about Khalid’s intentions about revealing secrets on corruptions of the royal family, tried to bribe him first and then threatened to harm his sister.
Khalid, in return, decided not to wait and continue his campaign, Mujtahidd wrote, adding that Khalid’s statements have turned to a source of serious concern for the Saudi regime.
“They fear that their divisions and problems are exposed but they pretend that they don’t care,” Mujtahidd’s tweet said.
