INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
released the brother of billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal after nearly a year in detention, family members said Saturday, as the
kingdom faces international pressure over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder.The release of Prince Khalid bin Talal was confirmed by at
least three relatives on Twitter, with photos shared of him kissing and embracing his son who has been in a coma for years."Thank god for
your safety," his niece Princess Reem bint Al-Waleed tweeted, posting additional pictures of the released prince with other relatives.The
government has not offered any public explanation for his arrest or the conditions of his release.The Wall Street Journal reported that he
was detained for 11 months for criticising the biggest crackdown on the kingdom's elite last November that saw dozens of princes, officials
and tycoons detained at Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton hotel.The government labelled it a corruption crackdown, but critics said it was an attempt by
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman -- heir to the Saudi throne -- to sideline his potential rivals and consolidate power.Prince Al-Waleed,
dubbed the Warren Buffett of Saudi Arabia, was among those rounded up and was released in early January after an undisclosed financial
agreement with the government.It appeared similar to deals that authorities struck with most other detainees in exchange for their
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said the order to murder Khashoggi came from "the highest levels" of the Saudi government, without
could also potentially release other elites still in detention, including former Riyadh governor Prince Turki bin Abdullah and billionaire
businessman Mohammed al-Amoudi, The Wall Street Journal reported."The killing of Jamal Khashoggi has left the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its
weakest diplomatic position since the horrific terror attacks of September 11," Ali Shihabi, head of the pro-Saudi Arabia Foundation think
detained in Prince Mohammed's widely condemned crackdown on dissent in recent months.(Except for the headline, this story has not been
edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
