Saud al-Qahtani

For other people named al-Qahtani, see Qahtan (disambiguation) § Al-Qahtani.
Saud al-Qahtani
Saud al-Qahtani
General Supervisor of the Center for Studies and Media Affairs
In office
2012–2019
Personal details
Born (1978-07-07) July 7, 1978 (age 46)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
EducationKing Saud University
Naif Arab University for Security Sciences
Known forSaudi royal court advisor
Alleged involvement in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
Military service
Allegiance Saudi Arabia
Branch/service Royal Saudi Air Force
Rank Sergeant
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Saud bin Abdullah al-Qahtani (born July 7, 1978) is a Saudi Arabian consultant and former royal court advisor. Prior to his dismissal in late 2018, he worked as an advisor to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.[1][2]

He reportedly oversaw the killing of Jamal Khashoggi,[3] among other interrogations and torture. It was after Khashoggi's assassination that he was dismissed. In December, Turkish officials issued a warrant for his arrest for the murder of Khashoggi. On November 15, 2018, he was sanctioned as a Specially Designated National under GLOMAG by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.[4] As of March 2019 he is reportedly under house arrest.[5] In April 2019, as a response to Khashoggi's murder, the United States Department of State sanctioned al-Qahtani and 15 others, banning them from entering the United States.[6]

Described as a "nationalist ideologue", al-Qahtani served as a major influence over Mohammed bin Salman's foreign and domestic policies.[7][8] Prior to his dismissal, his official post was General Supervisor of the Center for Studies and Media Affairs.[9][10][11]

  1. ^ "Who is Saud al-Qahtani, the fired Saudi royal court adviser?". Al Jazeera English. October 20, 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference VicJan20202 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Galloni, Alessandra; Robinson, Simon, eds. (October 22, 2018). "How the man behind Khashoggi murder ran the killing via Skype". Reuters.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ofac was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTMarch18 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Pompeo Bars 16 Saudis From U.S. in Response to Khashoggi Killing". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Spotlight: Inside the stricken court of crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman". GQ. 27 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Saudi 'Mr. Hashtag' becomes fall guy in Khashoggi case, but is he really down?". France 24. 25 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Saud Qahtani: Saudi authorities are taking legal steps against beIN Sports". Saudi Gazette. June 23, 2018. Saud Al-Qahtani, the general supervisor of the Center for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court, confirmed that relevant Saudi authorities are taking the necessary legal steps against the beIN Sports channels for "bringing politics into sports".
  10. ^ SANS Institute. "The Prince Mohammad Bin Salman College for Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence & Advanced Technologies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the SANS Institute to benefit of the professional and specialised training in the different fields of cyber security". LinkedIn. The memorandum was signed by the Dean of the College Dr. Abdullah Al-Dahlawi – on behalf of HE the General Supervisor of the Center for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court & Chairman of the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security, Programming & Drones (SAFCSP) Dr. Saud Alqahtani
  11. ^ "Assessing the Saudi Government's Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi" (PDF). Office of the Director of National Intelligence. February 11, 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021.