CIA warns Arab activist of potential threat from Saudi Arabia

The CIA has warned Norway that a prominent Arab activist who is living in the country under asylum protection is facing a potential threat from Saudi Arabia.

The pro-democracy activist, Iyad el-Baghdadi, is a vocal critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

El-Baghdadi was alerted to the threat on 25 April, when Norwegian authorities arrived at his doorstep, took him to a secure location, and warned him he was in possible danger from an unspecified threat emanating from the kingdom.

The activist was told the threat had been passed on to Norwegian authorities by a foreign intelligence agency, which journalists were able to confirm was the CIA.

"The way I understood it was, the Saudis have a crosshairs on me, but there is no idea of what they are going to do," El-Baghdadi said in a phone interview. "They assured me that they are taking it very seriously. They came prepared," he said, noting that the authorities had arrived with two squads: one to whisk him away, and another to ensure they were not being followed.    (The Guardian)