LONDON (NYTIMES) - A senior member of the Saudi royal family, who had feared returning to the kingdom after criticising the crown prince, flew back to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from London, three Saudis close to him said on Tuesday (Oct 30).
The return of Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, the younger brother of King Salman, is the most significant move in the royal family since the killing of dissident Jamal Khashoggi set off an international backlash against the kingdom.
Prince Ahmed had been afraid to return since he made public remarks last month that appeared to criticise Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 33, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, associates of his family said.
As one the most senior figures in the royal family, Prince Ahmed could help bestow legitimacy on any family response to the crisis over the killing of Mr Khashoggi - whether that response might be some effort to limit the crown prince's unrivaled power or instead to reinforce his grip on the kingdom.
The Oct 2 killing of Mr Khashoggi, a Virginia resident and Washington Post columnist, has mired the rulers of the kingdom in their most significant international furor since the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001, when a majority of the attackers were revealed to be Saudis.
It took the rulers of the kingdom more than two weeks after Mr Khashoggi vanished inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to acknowledge he was assassinated there by a team of Saudi agents.
Last month, Prince Ahmed was accosted in London by protesters chanting against the royal family because of Saudi Arabia's leading role in the three-year-old civil war in Yemen, which has led to a military stalemate and a humanitarian disaster.
"What does this have to do with the Al Saud?" Prince Ahmed said, referring to the royal family as a whole, in comments caught on video. "Those responsible are the king and his crown prince."
But he quickly made clear he had no intention to turn on the crown prince, issuing a statement saying his comments had been misinterpreted.
People familiar with his travels said Prince Ahmed landed in Saudi Arabia around 1.30am on Tuesday and Crown Prince Mohammed welcomed him warmly.
