Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler has not visited Britain since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA said he approved. Saudi sources had said the crown prince would be in London this weekend, but Reuters news agency reported that Prince Turki al-Faisal will now attend the funeral. Human rights groups and friends of Mr Khashoggi are planning a ‘Criminals Not Welcome’ demonstration in central London on Monday afternoon and have called for ‘MBS’ to be banned from the UK. While world leaders are expected to put aside their differences out of respect for the occasion, Buckingham Palace has found it impossible to avoid controversy entirely. Britain has full diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, as well as important security and trade ties, making its ruler an automatic invitee.
Controversy over Xi Jinping’s invitation
But bin Salman has been considered an outcast in the West since Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered by Saudi state agents at his embassy in Istanbul, and the country has also been condemned for the brutality of its war in Yemen. Human rights advocates argued that inviting Saudi Arabia’s leaders to the funeral was tantamount to whitewashing the country’s human rights record. There was also controversy surrounding the decision to invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to the funeral because of his country’s treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province. China has confirmed it is sending its vice president, Wang Qishan, to the funeral to represent Mr Xi. Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela are among the countries whose leaders have not been invited to attend the funeral.
