Sultan bin Turki files criminal complaint in Switzerland over kidnapping he claims took place just outside Geneva in 2003

A simmering feud at the heart of the Saudi royal family is poised to break into the open after one senior prince accused another of orchestrating his abduction, sedation and forcible repatriation from Switzerland.

In an unprecedented move, Prince Sultan bin Turki has filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland against his cousin Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd, as well as the current Saudi minister of Islamic affairs, Saleh al-Sheikh, claiming he was seriously injured as a result of a kidnapping that took place in June 2003.



According to Prince Sultan’s lawyers, the Swiss prosecutor Stéphane Grodecki has ordered a criminal investigation into the case. “A complaint has been filed on behalf of Prince Sultan in Geneva,” said the prince’s lawyer, Pierre de Preux. “A criminal investigation has started and is going on.” Swiss prosecutors refuse to confirm or deny whether an investigation is taking place.



The feuding princes are grandsons of the founder of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Saudi family tree Saudi scions

The Guardian made repeated attempts to contact Prince Abdulaziz and Saleh al-Sheikh, sending requests for comment to Saudi embassies in London and Geneva, and to Prince Abdulaziz’s suite at the George V hotel in Paris. Reporters also left messages at the embassies, at government ministries in Riyadh and at the Paris hotel.

The only response came from a media adviser to the embassy in London, who said: “I have sent your request on to the appropriate people, as requested, but this is really not a UK embassy issue. It is also a private matter between these gentlemen, not a foreign ministry matter.”

The row pits two wings of the Saudi establishment against one another. At the turn of the century, Prince Sultan was a rare voice within the Saudi royal family calling for reform. Prince Abdulaziz is the son of the late King Fahd, who ruled the country from 1982-2005.

Prince Sultan’s claim relates to a chain of events stretching back to January 2002, when he began accusing the defence and interior ministries of corruption.



In May 2003 he announced he would hold a public seminar in Geneva to reveal the full extent of corruption at the ministry of defence. A month later he attended an event at a palace owned by members of the Saudi royal family in the Swiss municipality of Collonge-Bellerive, just outside Geneva, along with the two accused.

Prince Sultan bin Turki Photograph: Supplied

After a private meeting with Prince Abdulaziz and Saleh al-Sheikh, Prince Sultan says five masked men appeared from behind the curtains and attacked him, knocking him unconscious.

He says he was anaesthetised, taken to a Boeing 747 waiting at Geneva airport, and flown to Riyadh. He says he suffered medical complications and was in a critical condition in Riyadh for five days. He says he was then held at the high security al-Hai’r prison, where he remained for several months. He was then allowed to return to his house in Riyadh, and placed under house arrest.

Aside from one statement given to al-Jazeera in 2004, nothing was heard of him until 2010, when he was moved to the US for palliative treatment.

According to Prince Sultan, he made an unexpected, albeit partial, recovery and escaped Saudi custody late in 2010. He then began planning legal action against those he holds responsible for his abduction.

Ever since Prince Sultan’s father, Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz, found out about his son’s ordeal, a blame game has played out in the royal family over the kidnapping. For several years mutual recriminations and finger-pointing have stalled all attempts at solving the dispute.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The palace in Collonge-Bellerive, Switzerland, owned by members of the Saudi royal family

The case has the potential to spark a diplomatic row between Switzerland and Saudi Arabia

But now the long-promised lawsuit by Prince Sultan is finally going ahead in Switzerland, thanks to the new distribution of power in the royal family. The new king, Salman, and Prince Turki, the father of Prince Sultan, belong to the “Sudairi seven”, seven sons of the old King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud who were full brothers with a Sudairi mother. Prince Abdulaziz is also a Sudairi but he lacks support from senior members of the royal family.

Prince Sultan is submitting his medical records in support of his complaint, and witness statements are also expected to form part of the case, though it is expected to be extremely difficult to compel the accused to give statements.

Besides the criminal charges, Prince Sultan has said he will launch a civil claim for the damage done to his health. He says he has submitted medical bulletins in support of his accusations.

Members of the Saudi royal family have sometimes faced scandals and lawsuits in the past but this is the first time such a senior member has accused another of such a serious criminal offence in a European court.

The case has the potential to spark a diplomatic row between Switzerland and Saudi Arabia. Prince Sultan alleges many organs of the Saudi government had a hand in his abduction, including General Intelligence, the ministry of interior, the embassy in Geneva and Saudi Arabian Airlines, as well as some of the most important and influential princes in the royal family.



The Swiss legal complaint extends to any other participant whose criminal responsibility may yet be discovered. According to defence lawyers, Grodecki has already begun the process of interviewing witnesses who were with Prince Sultan on his visit to Collonge-Bellerive on 12 June 2003.

The office of the general attorney of the republic and canton of Geneva refused to comment on the allegations or the status of any criminal investigation.

Cousins at war

Prince Sultan bin Turki bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Prince Sultan, 47, is a grandson of Saudi Arabia’s first king, often known as Ibn Saud. He came to brief public prominence in 2002 when he denounced corruption and issued a public call for reform. His father, Prince Turki, had had his own problems with his royal relatives and lived in exile in Cairo and the US for many years. His Moroccan wife had a reputation for black magic. Significantly, Prince Turki belonged to the “Sudairi seven”, the seven sons of Ibn Saud and one of his wives, Hessah bin As-Sudairi, who formed a strong faction that ruled the country after the assassination of King Faisal in 1975. King Salman, who came to the throne this year, is also one of them. In a country where family ties are hugely important, direct royal lineage means influence, power and wealth. Prince Sultan was in poor health before his alleged abduction. Resides in Geneva. Title: His Royal Highness.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Prince Abdulaziz, 42, is also a grandson of Ibn Saud and the favourite son of the late King Fahd, who ruled Saudi Arabia from 1995-2005. But he is not from the Sudairi branch of the family. His extensive business interests include Saudi Oger (construction) and MBC (media). He reportedly has a $1bn (£640m) property portfolio in the US. A mansion on Palace Green, in Kensington Palace Gardens (nicknamed Billionaires’ Row), London, was reported to be being offered for sale by Prince Abdulaziz in July 2013 for £100m. Last year King Abdullah relieved him of his posts as minister of state and a member of the Council of Ministers. He owns a fleet of private jets and is often described as being best known for his extravagance and a playboy image. Title: His Royal Highness.

• This article was amended on 20 July 2015 because an earlier version said King Fahd ruled Saudi Arabia from 1995-2005. This has been corrected to say from 1982.