Addiction, detention and intrigue: Inside the Saudi palace coup

Details have emerged of last month’s “palace coup” in Saudi Arabia in which the King’s 31-year-old son deposed his older cousin to become heir to the throne.

Mohammed bin Nayef, the former crown prince, was reportedly held in a room in a royal palace in Mecca and told he could not leave until he gave up his powers to his younger cousin, Mohammed bin Salman.

The New York Times reported that as part of the midnight plot senior Saudi princes were told in a secret briefing that the 57-year-old bin Nayef’s alleged addiction to painkillers rendered him unfit to become the next king.

The Saudi Government has been at pains to show there are no hard feelings between the deposed bin Nayef and his younger cousin, but the new account suggests the transition was less amicable than presented.

Bin Nayef was reportedly summoned to the Safa Palace on the evening of June 20 for what he thought was a regular meeting with King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

Instead, he was reportedly taken into a side room and stripped of his mobile phone by royal officials, who told him he needed to give up his role as crown prince and relinquish the powerful role of Interior Minister. Bin Nayaf initially refused, according to the newspaper, but eventually gave in.

In 2009, bin Nayef narrowly survived an al-Qaeda assassination attempt.

It has been rumoured that he began taking painkillers after the attack, and became addicted.

Bin Nayef has not commented publicly on these claims, which could not be independently verified.

Bin Nayef was also reportedly opposed to the Saudi-led diplomatic campaign against its neighbour, Qatar, which may have hastened his demotion.

Saudi and its three allies said this week that they were no longer insisting Qatar meet a list of 13 demands, including closing alJazeera, the television network.