INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
a prominent critic of Saudi Arabia's rulers after entering the kingdom's Istanbul consulate risks severely tarnishing the reformist image of
its de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, experts say.Riyadh has denied allegations made by Turkish officials that Saudi
columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the kingdom's mission by a team sent specially to Istanbul.Analysts said that while the claim
of a state-sponsored killing of the Washington Post contributor was unconfirmed, it would seriously damage the prince's credentials as a
reformer if true."It would be a major blow to the image that Saudi Arabia's advocates have so carefully tried to cultivate in the west,
particularly in Washington," Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute in the United States, told AFP.Britain said
on Sunday it was "working urgently" to verify the "extremely serious" allegations surrounding Khashoggi, who has been critical of some of
Prince Mohammed's policies and of Riyadh's intervention in the Yemen war.Washington and Paris, meanwhile, said they were closely following
the situation.The 33-year-old crown prince, who was named heir to the throne in June 2017, has garnered international attention with his
rapid rise to power as well as social and economic reforms.While he has been lauded by some for pursuing changes such as lifting a
decades-long ban on women driving, others have criticised his recent crackdown on political dissent.The kingdom has detained a number of
human rights and women campaigners this year, some of them accused of undermining national security, with scant public information about
their whereabouts or the legal status of their cases.Prince Mohammed -- commonly known as MBS -- was also the subject of criticism in
November 2017 when he was accused of placing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri under house arrest in Riyadh.The same month dozens of Saudi
confirmed -- threatens to undermine Riyadh's already strained relations with Ankara, and the fallout could also reach the United States, a
key ally, experts said."It would likely trigger a diplomatic crisis with Turkey as well as play into a narrative in (Washington) DC that
views Saudi Arabia under MBS as prone to seemingly reckless gambits with little apparent thought for the consequences, be it the blockade of
Qatar, the detention of Saad Hariri, the rupture with Canada, to say nothing of the war in Yemen."Bessma Momani, a professor at Canada's
University of Waterloo, agreed that Prince Mohammed's reputation was at stake."If Khashoggi's death is confirmed and accusations against the
Saudis hold, the image of the 'reformer' crown prince becomes more difficult to swallow particularly in Washington and other Western
capitals," she told AFP.Ottawa -- which had a diplomatic feud with Riyadh earlier this year over the kingdom's human rights record -- said
the allegation that Khashoggi had been killed were "worrying".A spokesman for the European Commission said it was looking into the
journalist's disappearance: "We have asked for and we are awaiting clarifications from the Saudi authorities on the fate of Mr
Khashoggi."James Dorsey, an expert in international affairs, said that the critic's disappearance could lead to a "significant
deterioration" in relations between Ankara and Riyadh."Turkey and Saudi Arabia differ on a host of issues, whether it's Iran, Qatar, the
There are more disagreements than agreements," Dorsey, a fellow at Singapore's S
Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told AFP."If (the Turkish authorities) are able to prove that Khashoggi was killed in the
sides of the dispute between Qatar and its neighbours.Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha in June 2017 over
allegations it supports extremists and is cosying up to arch-rival Iran and Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood.Ulrichsen said that it
would "likely trigger a diplomatic crisis" between Ankara and Riyadh if the Saudis are linked to Khashoggi's death.Momani also believes the
relationship will likely "worsen"."Turkey will claim this was an affront to their sovereignty and Saudi Arabia will point to the
Turkish-Qatari alliance as an explanation for Turkey's accusations," she said.But Ali Shihabi, director of the Washington-based Arabia
Foundation, a pro-Saudi think-tank, urged the public not to jump to conclusions."Before everybody jumps to conclusions, why would a
government conduct a 'premeditated assassination' of a dissident in its own consulate as opposed to anywhere else where they would have
plausible deniability," he tweeted on Saturday."Again the Turks are not a neutral party
For sure the whole story has big holes in it but lets think before we jump to conclusions."
