Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi criticized Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “authoritarian rule” shortly before his death, in an interview published following confirmation he died at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate. Speaking off the record to a Newsweek journalist working on a story about the Saudi leadership, he insisted he did not view himself as “an opposition” — he just wanted “a better Saudi Arabia”. “I’m not calling for the overthrow of the regime, because I know it’s not possible and is too risky, and there is no one to overthrow the regime,” Khashoggi said.
