Showing posts with label Saudi royals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saudi royals. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
World's Top Drug Trafficking Drug Lord | Saudi Prince Documentary | Amazing TV
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Three US Women Claim Sexual Assault by Saudi Prince in Beverly Hills Mansion
Three US women claim a Saudi prince assaulted them and held them captive during three days of sex- and drug-fueled partying at a Beverly Hills mansion.
The unidentified women, who have filed a civil suit in Los Angeles against Majed Abdulaziz Al Saud, 29, say they were hired by the prince as housekeepers in late September.
The suit, filed last Thursday, alleges that the prince terrorized the women and made sexual advances that included rubbing himself against one of them and asking another “to lick my entire body”.
At one point, he also ordered the staff, including security guards, to strip by the pool because he wanted to see everyone’s “naked pussy”. » | Agence France-Presse in Los Angeles | Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Friday, June 08, 2012
THE NEW YORK TIMES: A member of the traveling entourage of a Saudi prince was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison for the rape of a 26-year-old woman who fell asleep in his room at the Plaza Hotel after a night of barhopping.
During a two-week trial that ended in February, the woman and a friend testified that the man, Mustapha Ouanes, now 61, had introduced himself to them at a bar in Greenwich Village in January 2010. Wearing a finely tailored suit and hat, he seemed harmless, they testified, so they accepted his invitation for an early morning breakfast at the hotel.
After eating, drinking more and smoking hashish, the women fell asleep on the bed in Mr. Ouanes’s hotel room and awoke to find him raping one of them, they said. » | Russ Buettner | Thursday, June 07, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
A land development company belonging to Prince Abdul Aziz, the king’s third son who also serves as deputy foreign minister, has gone to court in an attempt to push through the project after objections from neighbours.
The planning row began after the prince’s firm, Tower Lane Properties, spent $12 million on five-and-a-quarter acres of land in the wealthy enclave of Benedict Canyon in 2009, and applied for permits to build a palatial residence.
Even in an area dotted with multi-million dollar homes, other occupants were outraged by the initial proposal for an 85,000-square-foot compound, and likened it to “building a Walmart in our neighbourhood.”
That was later scaled back to a 60,000-square-foot project but opponents argued it was still out of proportion with surrounding houses.
They called for an environmental impact study, objecting to the disruption and damage that could be caused by construction crews moving up and down narrow canyon roads. » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Wednesday, May 23, 2012
VANITY FAIR: There Goes the Neighborhood: Tucked away in Beverly Hills, the secluded neighborhood of Benedict Canyon is home to the sprawling estates of Jay Leno, Bruce Springsteen, and David Beckham, as well as moguls David Geffen and Ron Burkle. But when a mysterious Saudi prince announced plans to build a big spread of his own—85,000-square-feet big, complete with servants’ quarters and a private “sons’ villa”—the claws came out. Led by Martha Karsh, the hard-charging wife of a billionaire investor, the neighbors have hired a team of lawyers and launched a publicity blitzkrieg to stop construction. Michael Shnayerson documents the real-estate war galvanizing this once quiet Los Angeles enclave. » | Michael Shnayerson | Saturday, October 29, 2011
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A French Jewish mother has won a custody battle in France against a Saudi prince, who has been ordered to return their 10-year old daughter he was alleged to have kidnapped after their cross-religious romance turned sour.
The Paris criminal court ordered Prince Sattam al-Saud from the kingdom’s founding royal family, to hand over custody of his daughter Aya to her French mother, Candice Cohen-Ahnine, and provide child support of €10,000 (£8,300) a month.
But the French court ruling appears to have had no effect on the prince. “What do I care of Sarkozy?” he is cited as telling [Le] Nouvel Observateur magazine. “If need be, I’ll go like [Osama] bin Laden and hide in the mountains with Aya.”
Miss Cohen-Ahnin, 34, and the prince met in London 14 years ago at Brown’s nightclub and their daughter was born in November 2001.
Their relationship continued until 2006 when he allegedly announced that he was obliged to marry a cousin, but that she could be a second wife. She refused and they separated.
Miss Cohen-Ahnine claimed that her daughter was taken from her during a visit to Saudi Arabia in 2008 and that she was held in the prince’s palace where she had only fleeting meetings with her daughter.
She said she managed to leave when a maid left her door open and she sought refuge in the French embassy.
Miss Cohen-Ahnin was eventually spirited out of the country after the prince allegedly produced a document purporting that she had been Muslim but had converted to Judaism — a crime punishable by death. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Tuesday, January 31, 2012
LEX TIMES.fr: Une mère se bat pour récupérer sa petite princesse saoudienne : Le 12 janvier dernier, un juge aux affaires familiales a accordé à Candice Cohen-Ahnine l’exercice de l’autorité parentale sur sa fille Aya, retenue depuis 2008 à Riyad (Arabie Saoudite) au sein de la famille royale Al Saud. Une affaire complexe, l’enfant est née de sa relation avec le prince Sattam, membre de la famille royale Al Saud. Retour sur le cauchemar d’une mère auquel la Justice et les services diplomatiques français pourraient mettre fin. » | Par Emilie Gougache | LexTimes.fr | samedi 28 janvier 2012
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Britain's conviction of a Saudi prince for the murder of his servant has inspired Saudi Arabians longing for impartial justice
The prince is guilty of murder. That was the verdict rendered against the Saudi prince, Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Saud, regarding the death of his servant, Bandar Abdulaziz. It is a victory for the people of Saudi Arabia who, for the first time in their lives, can see a "blueblood" royal held accountable for his actions against a commoner.
His trial at the Old Bailey sent a strong message that a Saudi prince and a pauper are the same in the eyes of the law in Britain, and that British justice is superior to the Saudi court system, which claims to uphold Islamic standards.
Many Saudis are cheering the verdict: they know that if this murder had occurred in Saudi Arabia, the killer would not have seen a single day in prison. The victim in this case had no hopes of receiving justice in his homeland, but the British court has upheld the fundamental principle of equality under law.
Millions of people in Saudi Arabia were watching the trial closely, and the outcome gives them hope that the impartial rules of western jurisprudence may one day be emulated in their land. In Saudi Arabia and other despotic regimes, where people are divided into rulers and subjects, the judicial system is guided by the whims of the ruling family and the accused prince would have been given a free pass. This may have been on the mind of detective chief inspector John McFarlane, who summarised the situation: "This verdict clearly shows no one, regardless of their position, is above the law."
The convicted prince is a "Royal Highness" prince – one of the few hundred males eligible by birth to ascend to the Saudi throne. There are two classes of Saudi princes. Male descendents of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, are given the title of "Royal Highness", while other princely males have to make do with a mere "Your Highness". It is worth noting that these titles are an anathema to Islam's egalitarian tradition and, in fact, have no foundation in Arab history. They were imported to Saudi Arabia from the United Kingdom in the 1940s.
Bandar Abdulaziz, the prince's victim, was a black man who grew up in a government orphanage with no known parents – the worst possible combination in Saudi Arabia in terms of social worth. In the eyes of many royals, Bandar was just a slave – and it's a view that the Saudi courts usually share. Read on and comment >>> Ali al-Ahmed | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
* "Justice even for princes." Yes, for now, perhaps. But how long will it be before a deal will be done with the royal family of Saudi Arabia to safeguard/secure a contract or two?
This comment can also be found here
Related here
MAIL ONLINE: Prince Saud faces the death penalty over his gay sex life if he ever returns to his home country and may have to apply for asylum when he is eventually released.
His lawyers failed in a last-ditch attempt to stop sordid details of his encounters with male escorts being revealed during the trial.
John Kelsey-Fry QC, defending, said Al Saud had already faced abuse from Islamic fundamentalists being held alongside him at Belmarsh prison.
The court heard that homosexuality remains a capital offence in Saudi Arabia, with the country in which the acts take place having little relevance to the prosecution, under the country's sharia law code.
Families of those accused have been known to push for the most severe penalties because of the perceived shame caused to them by homosexuality.
Saudi nationals have been granted asylum in the UK on the basis they were gay.
Mr Kelsey-Fry had unsuccessfully argued before the trial started to exclude evidence of the gay relationship from the evidence put before the jury.
In a sign of the anxiety about his sexuality becoming public, the prince's lawyers had even initially argued that this legal argument should be held behind closed doors.
He added: 'There have been difficulties in Belmarsh prison already whereby there are Islamists - Islamic fundamentalists - who have already caused difficulties with this defendant.'
Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, said that while the defendant might be 'anxious' about this evidence about him, he would not be returning to his home country 'for some time'.
'He knows as he has no doubt been advised that if the time arises that a return to Saudi Arabia is contemplated and there is then a real risk to him suffering, he will be entitled to apply for asylum.' [Source: Mail Online] | Daily Mail Reporter | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Minimum of twenty years in jail for sadistic, cruel gay Saudi prince >>>
THE GUARDIAN: Saudi prince jailed for life for murdering servant: Brutal death at five-star London hotel was culmination of 'sadistic' abuse for which 'no one is above the law', rules judge >>> Sam Jones and agencies | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
THE INDEPENDENT: Life term for Saudi prince who murdered servant: A Saudi prince who used his servant as a "human punchbag" was jailed for life today for beating and strangling him to death. >>> PA | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A Saudi Arabian prince could never be seen to be homosexual in a country where it is punishable by death.
Ostensibly in a relationship with a woman, Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasir al Saud portrayed himself as an upstanding member of the House of Saud. A grandson of King Abdullah, he tended to his royal duties alongside his father, Prince Abdulaziz.
However, when released to go travelling for three months with his manservant Bandula Abdulaziz, Saud was free to embrace a more “effeminate” way of life.
Described as a combination of Nigel Havers and Omar Sharif, he made little secret of the fact he and his aide were sharing a bed in their room at the five-star Landmark hotel in London. Rarely out of each other’s sight, they routinely shopped in Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nichols, where on one occasion they spent just eight minutes and bought a £2,005 dress. For whom this was intended was not clear.
The language used by hotel staff to describe the prince was strikingly similar – “effeminate”, “giggling”, “very camp”. Shamsul Arafin, a waiter who delivered him room service, said: “By his gestures and postures, he seemed to be gay.” >>> Caroline Gammell | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Related here
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A Saudi prince, Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud, faces a life sentence for beating and strangling his servant to death in the culmination of a campaign of "sadistic" abuse.Saud was found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering Bandar Abdulaziz in a "brutal" assault at their five-star hotel suite.
The prince was fuelled by champagne and 'sex on the beach' cocktails when he bit the 32-year-old hard on both cheeks during the attack in February.
They had just returned from a Valentine's Day night out when Saud launched the ferocious assault.
When he was arrested he at first wrongly believed he had diplomatic immunity but his special status as a Saudi royal could not save him from British justice.
The 34-year-old, a member of one of the world's richest and most powerful dynasties, was found guilty of murder today by the jury after just one hour and 35 minutes of deliberation.
Saud showed no reaction as the decision was announced.
The verdict means a lengthy jail term for the prince and the end to his luxury playboy lifestyle, funded by his wealthy family, in which he dined in fine restaurants and secretly entertained gay escorts in his plush hotel room.
In court his lawyers tried to cover up evidence of his homosexuality.
If he ever returns to his home country he faces the possibility of execution - not because of the killing but because being homosexual is a capital offence there.
The murder of Mr Abdulaziz was the final act in a "deeply abusive" master-servant relationship in which the prince carried out frequent attacks on his aide "for his own personal gratification". >>> | Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Related here
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A Saudi prince accused of murdering his manservant in a sexually motivated attack insisted they were “close friends” who only shared a double bed because the sofa bed was inferior, a court heard yesterday.Prince Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Nasir Al Saud told police he was not homosexual and that he and Bandar Abdulaziz were equals who had spent four months travelling the world.
He said the detectives did not understand the Saudi Arabian culture, where men regularly travel together as companions.
The prince’s explanation of the relationship came during his murder trial at the Old Bailey, which has heard how the Saudi royal employed gay escorts and took compromising photographs of Mr Abdulaziz on his mobile phone.
He was arrested only hours after Mr Abdulaziz’s battered body was discovered in the room they shared at the five-star Landmark Hotel in London on February 15 this year.
A post-mortem examination showed that the 32-year-old died from a combination of strangulation and neck and abdomen injuries.
When his body was discovered, Prince Saud tried to explain his wounds by saying Mr Abdulaziz was robbed on the Edgware Road, three weeks before his death, the court heard.
However, as he led detectives on a false walking tour to show them where it happened, other police officers discovered cctv footage of Prince Saud beating up Mr Abdulaziz in the hotel lift.
He was immediately arrested on suspicion of murder but refused to answer questions, instead giving the police a statement in which he explained why the pair shared a room. >>> Caroline Gammell | Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Related: Homosexual Saudi prince in ferocious attack on his manservant >>>
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A gay Saudi prince killed his servant in a murder of ''ferocity'' which had a ''sexual element'', a court heard today.Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud had previously subjected Bandar Abdulaziz to physical assaults and mistreatment, the Old Bailey was told.
The 32-year-old victim was found beaten and strangled in bed at the London hotel room he was sharing with the prince on February 15.
A series of injuries including bite marks to Mr Abdulaziz's cheeks revealed the ''ferocity of the attack to which he had been subjected'', a jury was told.
The prince at first claimed his aide had been robbed and attacked in Edgware Road three weeks before his death, the Old Bailey heard.
But CCTV footage from a lift at the Landmark hotel in Marylebone where they were staying showed the victim had been subjected to a ''really nasty assault'' by the defendant himself on January 22, said Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting.
It became clear to police that he had been killed ''in the privacy of the room he had shared with the defendant and when alone with him'', the court heard.
Further searches of CCTV footage revealed previous assaults on the victim by the defendant, Mr Laidlaw said.
The prince was arrested and detectives began trying to establish ''the true nature of the relationship'' between the men, he added.
Saud claimed they were ''friends and equals'' and that he was heterosexual, jurors were told.
But Mr Laidlaw said: ''The evidence establishes quite conclusively that he is either gay or that he has homosexual tendencies.
''It is clear that his abuse of Bandar was not confined simply to physical beatings. There is clear evidence, over and above the bite marks, that there was also a sexual element to his mistreatment of the victim.''
Mr Laidlaw said the covering up of his homosexuality might in other circumstances be explained by embarrassment or fear.
But he added: ''The defendant's concealing of the sexual aspect to his abuse of the victim was for altogether more sinister reasons and it tends to suggest that there was a sexual element to the circumstances of the killing.'' >>> | Tuesday, October 05, 2010
BBC: 'Sexual element' in Saudi prince's servant killing (+ video) >>> | Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The appearance of a young Saudi prince, a grandson of the king, in a mobile phone advert has raised eyebrows in his country.
Prince Abdullah bin Meteb's lead role in a television advert for Saudi Arabia's second-biggest mobile phone operator Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), has sparked a debate among diplomats and Saudis alike on what it could mean for the absolute monarchy, which has always been secretive about its internal affairs.
"Why is a Saudi prince on a television commercial? And why did it have to be the grandson of the king and not someone else?" one Riyadh-based Western diplomat mused.
But others say the advert, starring Prince Abdullah, a professional rider, and his sponsorship deal with Mobily expose changes in the Saudi royal family in recent years as it becomes ever larger and younger.
There are several thousand Saudi princes, all descendants of the kingdom's founder King Abdulaziz, who died in 1953.
"They are getting closer to the public. The number of young princes eclipses the number of patriarchs in the Saudi monarchy which is getting more bourgeois in its lifestyle," said a Saudi analyst.
"Whether through their involvement in business life or in philanthropy, royalty is becoming part of the Saudi elite".
King Abdullah has repeatedly stated his commitment to modernising the world's largest oil exporter with political and economic reforms, but the closest the ageing monarch has come to reforming the monarchy itself was the inception in 2006 of a royal council to appoint future crown princes and kings. >>> | Sunday, April 18, 2010
KUWAIT TIMES: Saudi prince stars in TV commercial >>> | Monday, April 19, 2010
Monday, April 14, 2008
THE TELEGRAPH BLOG: I’m not sure that people have properly grasped the enormity of the BAE–Saudi affair. I mean, look at the language the high court used. The judges dismissed Labour’s contention that British jobs (let alone national security) would be at risk. It was, they said, a clear-cut case of our criminal justice system buckling under pressure from a foreign power. This ought to be such stuff as hauls down governments, pulverises reputations. Yet, after a day of harrumphing, the newspapers moved on.
Why is the nation not more outraged? “We fear for the reputation of the administration of justice if it can be perverted by a threat,” said the judges. “It is not difficult to imagine what they [the Saudis] would think if we attempted to interfere with their criminal justice system.” Quite.
So why are we taking it lying down? Why are people who normally care about British sovereignty not up in arms that we should have thrown ourselves at the feet of foreign despots?
The answer is that the whole affair has been brilliantly spun as a principle versus pragmatism issue. Unless you have been following the case with unusual interest, you will probably have formed the inchoate impression that it one of those questions that pits hard-headed hommes d’affaires against woolly-minded peaceniks. Seeing a coalition of anti-arms trade Guardianistas arrayed on one side, many Tories have unthinkingly lined up on the other.
In fact, the contention that British jobs or British interests were at stake appears wholly groundless. The judges who have picked over the whole sorry business believe that the Saudi Prince Bandar “went into Number Ten and said ‘get it stopped’”. All the bluster about security was, they thought, “a useful pretext”. Falling at the Feet of the Saudis >>> By Daniel Hannan
THE TELEGRAPH BLOG:
Grovelling to Oil Despots Demeans Us All >>> By Daniel Hannan
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)