>> narrator:ight- >> you'll remember he came to the united states and was lauded, lirally, from coast toteoa >> narrator: frontline takes a hard look at saudi arabia'sin mohammed bin salman. >> the trump white house had chosen its saudi friend and that was mbs. >> narrator: he was embraced as a reformer... >> he sold himself, he sold his vision >> people were mesmerized. >> narrator: ...but there was another side.di >> there weridents who were tortured. >> they want to put them into a position where they're completely broken and sinced. >> priries and big businesspeople put under constant observation. >> he seemed to get more hyper, more intense, more committed to going after his enemies the more powerful he became.

>> narrator: and then the brutal murder of a jourlist.li >> khashogghi was interrogated, torturednd murdered. >> did the regime kill jamal ashoggi? >> narrator: frontline correspondent main smithth investiges... >> even the esident said, "this is theis worst cover-up i've ever seen."s >> narrator: tonight on frontline- "the crown prince of saudi arabia". >> frontline is made possible by contributions your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.he and byorporation for public broadcasting. major support is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to buildina more just, verdant and peaceful world. more informaon at macfound.org.at the ford foun: working with visnaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. at fordfoundation.org. by the abramfoundation,rovided committed to excellence in journalism. e park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. the john and helen glessner

family trust. supporting trustworthy urnalism that informrmand inspires. and by the frontline journalism fund, with major suppo from jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from chris and lisa kaneb. ♪ (whistle blowing distantly) ak (man sg arabic) >> martin smith: it is december 2018. 's been less than three months since the murder and dismemberment of journalist jamal khashoggi. but just outside of riyadh, saudi leaders and some of theird frare gathered for a lebration. (laughter)bi

featured iurelectric-car race, intended to showcase the kinds of reforms uerwahere. (whistles blowing, horns honking) i have managed to get into the royal boxe' thadel al-jubeir, saudi arabia's foreign minister at the time; mohamm al-sheikh, a former world bank lawyer and now a minister of state; multibillionaire prince al-waleed bin talal, ang the world's richest men. and over there is norman roule, a former senior c.i.a. officialr he's talking to the world's largest private collector of rembrandts, thomas kaplan.of an course there's distinguished royalty-- the powerful mohammed bin zayed, crown prce of abu dhu i; princess reema, now saudi

arabia's ambassador to the u.s.; his royal highness prince khalid birsalman, now deputy minis of defense; and, his big brother, the crown prince p himself, mohammed bin salman. h >>e i will do that, but if i do that i would be... >mith: i came here to w understa he is and where he is taking saudi arabia. i especily wanted to speak to him about the khashoggi murder. but we'll come back to that later. >> now, no, but in the first we have, we havzero... >> smith: fowenow, his royal highness just wants to watch the race below. >> second car. ♪ >> smith: he wants to put theth murder behind him. ♪

(horn blows) (ship's horn blows) ♪ much is already known about that last october, oben jamal khashoggi and his fiancée took a xi to the saudi consulate in istanbul. he entered just after 1:00 p.m. ey pick up some papeork needed for their wedding. but when the office closed and khashoggi had not >>ere i was, looking at my twitter feed, and somebody i follow, who is close to jamal, santng that jamal khashoggi into the saudi consulate ite istanbul a he has, he has not go out.

wtd i remember retweeting that message, saying," what the heck? >> a prominent saudi jouaualist disappearein instanbul. >> jam khashgi, a saudi arabian citizen and u.s.... >> smith: at the time, khashoggi was a regular contributor to the "washington post" and hadd written many pieces critical of the crown prince." h was last seen entering the saudi consulate in istanbul,bu turkey. >> jamal khashgi hasn't been seen since. >> i was baffled by the idea that he could walk into a consulate andisappear. i couldn understand who wouldul that, because even if you wanted to kill a dissident, or,r someone that you felt waata dissid t, why would you do it in your own consulate?lo yo plausible deniability. >> the mystery deepens tight over the fate of jamal khashoggi. >> the saudi government claims>t amalalhashoggi enteredhe consulate and left shortly afterwards. even among saudis themselves, people were shocked by it. he's not a political oppositio

he didn't ever call for oustingt the regime. so it't'something th was... very much unprecedented. >> a turkish newspaper claimed officials had an audio recording of khashoggi being tortured... ts ...ana dozen saudi ag murdered khashoggi in the consule.ul >> khashog k's body was carved >> is one thing to know that he'd been kidnapped. it was another thing to know not only had he been killed, buten k he'd been tortured. fonanybody that you've know for a long time to end that way, it just... just didn't seem right. >> sau arabia is scrambling to carry out damage control. the crown prince himself is the principasuspect. >> this is a man who we'veeen trying to understand and cope with. is he a modernizer or a tyrant? >> prince mohammed bin salman is now facing greater scrutiny than ever before.th so who iman in charge of

saudi arabia? ♪ >> smith: our story begins with lmince mmed's father, bin abdulaziz al saud. was born in 1935 and is believed to be the 25th son of the kingdom's founder. he was appointed goverr of riyadh at a young age, a polftion he held for almost a century. it was a time of extradinary change. >> salman as governor of riyadh literally turned a small deserte town into a thriving cy. there were maybe a 100,000 people living in riyadh when he became governor back in the 1960s. day it's somewhere around seven or eight million people. ♪ >> mith: it was during this period of growth that young mohammed bin salman, born in19 , grew up. but little is known about his

early years or why his father favored him. he had many sons. hen,icked this particular so the oldest of his third marriage-- why? >> i understand that the crown prince and the king ha spent an awful lot of time together. and they have a similar way of looking at the world. (bin salman speaki arabic) (applause) the kingngppead to groom him to share his view on issuesuch as corruption, the duties of the royal fami, and the responsibilities to sustain the al saud kingdom. ♪ >> smith: most young royals sty abroad at some point. not prince mohammed. he remained in riyadh, by his father's side, through highh school a college.. >> as i understand it, once o o graduated he was wloyed by his father, working-- and i assume, learning frofrom that work---- when his father was the

governor. >> apparently that's what for some years, was attend a a of his father's meetings and make himself useful. >> smith: mohammed's father, while governor, had th responsibility of settling of disputes within the royal family. >> so everybody who had a problem obth a rival prince or had a-a dispute, they will go to him. and he was known to be very, very sict, in terms ofs disciplining princ. >> he was kns n, for instanc to discipline peopop that he didn't like, including physically syspping . >> he was, according to theor stories, famous for calling princes who refused to pay bank loans and putting em in ath rath luxurious villa and pressuringhem to pay what they owed, and they did. >> and everything that was ried in the closet, he khew about it. or get rid of it or fix it order

whatever. those files, of course, he has now transferred entirer to his son, who has all of that w information going back literally a half a century. this gives them enormous influence within the house o saud, because ey know every peccadillo, every fault that every member of the family has had. (indistinct conversa >> smith: in 2015, upon the death of hof predecessor prince mohammed inhe line ofon. ccession. first, prince muqrin, his predecessor's choice for crown prince, was quickly removed. >> no explanation was ever offere he was just removed and replaced by the then-deputy crown prince, mohammed bin nayef. mohammed bin nayef was a known quantity tthe centl intelligence agency, mi6, to

every intelligence service around the world. >> smith: and mbs is moved up behind him? >> right. >> smith: mbs or, mohaed bin salman, was w second in line to the throne. he was 29. >> the saudi system absolute monarchy. the king's will is absolute. and king salman decided at mbsde is going to be his successor. he shared his views, which are very aggressive, for instance, on iran. he also has a toughness that i think the king didn't see in others. >> smith: what do you an by toughness? >> an ability to use coercive power, if necessary, against domestic enemies and-and regional enemies. i thinthe king has a view that saudi arabia is a country that cannot be e led, you with kid gloves. ♪ >> smith: mbs wasted little time

in putting his toughness on display. freshly appointed d nister of defense, he went on the offense in neighboring yemen. ♪ >> allahu akbar!>> (explosion) >> a new offensive tdrive out iranian-backed rebels who seized control of the capital and key military sites. >> smith: the houthi rebels in s yemen were advancing with pport from saudi arabia's ♪ chenemy, iran. fombs, this was an urgent national-security threat.it >> officials say t t saudi campaign was quickly planned, catching top u.s. military commanders off-guard. >> smith: he went ahead, givingb tha adnistration little notice. >> suddenly, mbs comes, and he>> says, "i'll define our national-security interestsst almo independently."

it's not this risk-averse saudi arabia that we had gotten used to. ♪ (explosis, screaming) (siren bring) >> smith: some elders in the royal family were said to have opposed the offensive, believing it was rash-- crown prince binf nayeong them. but young prince mohammed prailed. it became known as mbs's war. >> and there was a groundswell of young saudis that it wa like, "go, mohammed, go."o. this is the first time that saudi arabia had ever for ht in a war like this outside ofbo their n ers. and it was hugely aspular,e because y that he framed it was, "quick, in and out., we'll fix ne." ♪

>> smith: among the most ardent supporters of the yemen campaign was this man. i, i toast you. >>hoa.>> >> smith: jamal khashogg >> it is coffee that roasted lightly with cardamom. >> smith: ah, with cardamom.ri and when you dnk coffee in saudi arabia, where ishe coffee from? is it fr africa? >> originay from yemen, alal mokha. >> smith: i asked him why the rush to war in yemen was necessary, especially in light of reports of many civilian casualties.ab forif saudi waite mr. obama to approve an enintervention in yemen, y would have been gone and los long time ago. itould be controlled by the iranians and the houthi. so we did not wait for mr. obama's approval.am ani ink that empowers saudi arabia. >> smith: is saudi arabia committing human-rights abuses in its bombing campaign? >> look, for saudi araa, it is

a 1939 moment. >> smith: so y're comparing iran to nazi germany >> yes. in saudi arabia, we that moment. we either accept iranian hegemony, control over yemen and over our destiny, or freedom. >> let's get more on the saudi position. i'm joined by jamal khashogg >> smith: at the time, khashoggi was not a big critic of the regime. >> jamal khashoggi, welcome back to the program. >> smith: he, for the most part, a pro-government voice. >> jamal was a journalist, an analyst, but also a clnt of the saudi government. >> smi: an insider? >> an in... absolutely an insider. >> is saudi arabia breakingia diplomatically... >> he's someone you went to to hederstand the politics of country. >> the irony of things that we are almost in total agreement... >> to understand the relationship with islamism. totally absurdn islam. that is prince or another, wasd for one extremely close to prince turki

>> he was spokesman for the embassy in london and then in washington when i was ambassador in both. >> smith: right. s he ever somedy, did he complain about the kingdom?>> amal always had ideas, and-and he was very-very open with those ideas. (khashog and faisal speaking arabic) he had a good sense of hor, sometimes laughing at himself, sometimes laughingh others. and he was a very professional journalist. perspective, now, audi journalist jamal khashoggi. >> smith: in those day khashoggi was especi enthusiastic about mbs when heut talked ahe need for reform. >> and he is seen as a savior ba younis and-and by me. >> the fact that you have a new king and a young advisor, in the

person of mohammed bin salman, that gave hope to jamal. >> smith: in 2016, after meeting with mbs, khashoggi made a point of tweeting this. it's the only photograph we've en of the two of them together. (boys speaking arabic, shouting) i've been coming to saudi arabia for many years. over that time i witnessed very little change. but in recent years i've been surprised. (banplaying music) one night in march 2017, i was invited to an art studio.. (people clapping rhythmically) young men were gathered for anm evening of music. this was unusual in a place li riyadh, where performances like this had long been banned by

saudi clerics. (oud playing) in the past, hosting an evening li this could lead to arrests.mb put an end to that. (man singing in aric)) (singing continues) (men singinglong)ns (iuments playing) (man singing) many saudis knew that thene countred to change both culturally and economically. for years saudi arabia hasri d most all of its income all from oil sales. but oil prices have been falling, the private sector is high. and youth unemployment is (car horn honking) >> in saudi arabia there was very little change, the economyc wahighly inent, women

played no role.s there watremendous amount of corruption. it was in exactly the sort of place you would exped if you had a gornment run by elderly men ruling by consensus. ♪ >> every single developmental s plan-- and therted ithe late '60s, early '70s-- had two main sentences in it: diversing the economy away from oil and less dependence on oil revenues for the government. smith: it's always been theyo caseve always pushed for that, and you' never gotten there. >> we've always pushed for thata we've always talked about that. but we were never able to achieve that. this time we were doing something. ♪ >> smith: the king gave mbs full rein. it was ambitious beyond anythinb saudi arabia had attempted before. (bin salman speaking arabic): pl

>> smith: mbs' was to import western technology, western entertainmen and to open uthe notoriously closed kingdom to become world-class tourist deination. imagination that i have nevern experienced anybody with. i'm i'out 17 years older than he is, but i really look up to him as a leader. (applause) >> smith: many whoet the young prince were initially imprsed. >> he was confident, charismatic, decisive, with a vision-- not a plan, but a broad sort of, "ththe'the lighthouse, i have to get to >> smith: you ththght he was a good thing. thing.hought he was a-a good

you did say, "i'm dealing with a different kind of saudi than anything i've ever seen."everth >> smohammed bin salman planned to finance his vision 2030 by taking saudi arabia's oil giant, saudi aramco public, in an i.p.o. >> the biggest investment banks in the world havbeen hav salivating over the prospects. (bin salman speaking arabic): >> smith: to expand the economy, he also needed tintroduce some major social reforms. >> he stops the religious police from having the right to arrest anyone in public for alleged infringement against public morality. me won, for instance, were often target for not bei appropriately dressed.s religioulice can no longer do anything. >> now you go to the malls, and you're relaxed. total segregation that w in place in thiciet cracking down.

we were hidden, basically, for a very long time, you know, just work in very traditional jobs, anwithin the family protection. soryow we're coming out in e aspect. >> smith: and you credit prince mohammed? >> for all this. for all this. and-and actually king salman. >> reforming the>> relious-cultural space, integrating women-- the historic things that leaders were unable to do over the last 50 years. >> smithout of these changes would co a new saudi identity. >> as they have reined in the religious police, mohammed bin salman and the people around him have de-emphasized religion. and in its place has been this ea of, that nationalism isst mportant. >> this hyper-national narrative that saudi arabia is grea .. (bin salman):

>> it is in line of wh happening around the world. a new generation of leaders are using the same language and the same rhetoric. ew (applause, inter speaking) >> smith: mbs, not his father the king or crown prin nayef, became the emblem of that new saudarabia both here and abroad. (cheering, man speaking arabic) (man speaking arabic) t all the chanans did not meanan that saudi arabia would become more politically opeor tolerara. >> he looked like a very

pro-western, pro-technology guy. what i think was never properly interrogated was what kind of o political system did he have in mind. >> smith: politically minded saudis didn't ite know what to expect. but for them, economic and social changes would be meaningless without real tical reform. (yahya al-assiri): ♪ >> smith: yahya al-assiri is a prominent human rights activist. i met him at a conference he organized of saudis in london. (assiri): >> sth: in recent yearss increasi numbers of saudis haveeft the country--

writwrs, academics, and activists of all kinds. >> the main thing we're calling for is we want freedom ofsp ch, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement where theele pean have the right of self-determination. (speaking arabic): th >> swhat kind of a man is mohammed bin salman? >> mohammed bin salman... ♪ >> smith: in march 2017 meet with me in hice aeted to riyadh's irqah palace. i wanted to talk to him about political reforms. but when i got there, he talked mostly about his economic plans

and the new u.s. president, donald trump. n- i asked for anmera interview. he saihe wasn't quite ready. the toxt day, i was surprised receive a text. (phone dgs) (horn honks) ♪ meanwhile, jamal khashoggi continued to be sought after as a commentator. after america's 2016 election,16 he video conferenced i u.s. think tank from the middle east. >> hank you, thank you for inviting me. i'm sure saudi arabifficials were caught off-guard by the election of mr. trump... >> smith: his comments weren't especially negative, jt cautionary. >> if we had difficulties with somebo like mr. obama, i'm sure we will hmore difficulties with-with mr. ump. >> he waadvising gulf governments, including saudi

arabia, not put all their wegs in trump's basket. >> the more chaoave in the reon, the more...re.. >> but rather to diversify their relations. .>> mr. trump haso choo he cannot be critical of the iran nuclear program and not see the chaos theyeyre creating. is not just... >> smith: it is not clear if he realized he had crossed a red line. but he had. in very clear terms, he told friends and colleagues, saudi authorities ordered him to no longer write or tweet or appear on tv. >> this speech in particular was seen by mohammed bin salman as likely to be interpretednt as beingtrump and his inner circle. >> smi>>: so, "don't get betwe me and the trump administration." >> yes. (horns blong fanfare)

smith: the importance of donald trump to the saudud wasma abundantly clear in the way they greeted him in riyadh in may 2017.eu >> the graof this welcome is so different from past >> really just showing how excited this country is that president trump has chosen sdi arabia to make his first stop. >> it's a huge coup for mbs and king salman. (band playing "star spangled banner") on that it's able to bring the st powerful pen the world to saudi arabia and to rekindle the strategic alliance that ad frayed under presidentad f ama. so forbs, this is a massive victory.pl (baning) >> sth: the saudis used the trip to influence the president on a variety of issues. >> and t saudis knew how tokn play donald ump. they'd seen this kind of pd son before, in many ways he's kind a irror image of many saudi princes.

>> everywhere yolook there are posters welcoming donald trump.u >>ut his picture up on big sters on the side of skyscrapers. >> pretty amazing welcome ceremony that president trump is receivg... >> you p on the sword dance. (drums beang, men singing) you put on a big display. (playing bagpipes) >> klg salman bin abdulaziz a saud confers king abdulazizre medal ondent donald trump. (applause) >> you play to his ego, and he will do what you want him to do. ♪ >> smith: what the saudis wawaed from trump was u.s. help in beating ba iran and supporting saudi ambitions to t become the dominant playern the middle east.

in return, mbs made promises to help trump and his son-in-law jared kushner resolve the israeli-palestinian conflict. >> mammed bin salman would tell people, "i see a middle east that's going to include israel. i'm prepared to recognize israel, ha trade relationships with israel." and i think that was very seductive to the trumpto administration and at the centerpiece of the-the plan that kushner kept trying to push. >> the president and his top aides taking steps to solidify relations withhe muslim world. >> to give credit to mohammed bin salman of his many er accomplishments, the grooming and wooing of donald trump has to be pretty ♪ ose to the top. >> smith: during the visit, trump agreed to an arms deal worth over $100 billion. em>> we signed historic agts with the kingdom. and we will be sure to help our

saudi friends to get a good deal from our great american defense companies. ♪ >> smith: the saudis, the trip was great trium. they had been reassured that trump had their back. ♪ ♪ in riyadh, i was in.th trump was war was ints third year. ♪ the saudis, with u.s. military assistance, were continuing their air campaign. the iranian-backed houthi rebe were not retreating. but prince mohammed was-- as he told me-- confident that withju a little more time he could win here.

>> we heard bombs and we cid afthings.... >> big boom, like that. >> i see t boys of my neighbor has died. and blood on the floor. >> smith: i visited a yemeni refugee camp. (woman speaking arabic): >> smith: why are the saudis doing this? (woman 1): ♪

>>miththen with the war yemen at a slemate, and within weeks of trump's trip to the regi, mbs launched a new foreign policy adventurew against another neighbor-- the very rich nation of qatar. u.a.e., among otheoke offhe diplomatic contact... >> smith: for years the saudis had accused the qataris of financing terrorist groups and being soft on iran. now mbs chose to act. >> within a night, saudi arabia cut trading routes, ansportation into qatar. they severed diplomatic relations. it was aemand for total capitulation, turning qatar into a vassal sta. it was a very brutal move. >> countries blockadinthisna b on has sent qatar a 13-point listf demands... >> qatar has been askeurb plomatic and trade relations with iran. smith: among theidemands was that qatarhut down its giant, state-owned badcasting

network, al jazeera. >> saudi arabia doesn't see why tinyountries like qatar shou have this disproportionate say r in tion. so this time, they went for they jugular. >> the qataris havshed incitement and extremism through their media platforms in order to destabilize countries. qatas, "enough is enough. to the this has got to stop if you want to have normal relations with us." >> smith: trump tweeted his support of the saus, seeming to agree with them thaqatar was funding terrorism. "so good to see thsaudi arabia visit... already paying off. perhaps thisthill be the beginning of the end to horror of terrorism!" ♪ what trump seemed to have forgotn is that qatar is a major u.s.s.lly that hosts the in the middle east.tary y se

trump tried to negotiate a settlement, t the qataris would not cave to saudi demands. >> to the benefit of the qataris, they have a tremendous amount of financial resources. they have learned to live without their neighbors. they have weathered the blockade without any kind of major economic probl they, in fact, have prospered. ♪ >> smith: but mbs refused to lift the boycott >> he wants to be the most imrtant leader who decides on policies of the region. it's the desire, i think, by mbs to be the dominant regionalre fi mi >>: mbs was also determined to be the dominant decision-maker at home one man stood in his way: crown prince mohammed bin nayef.♪ ♪ on the night of june 20, two eks after the attack on qatar, bin nayef was summoned by the king.

saudi tv badcast this cafully choreographed scene. (bin nayef): (bin salman): w essentially, what mbs d to break the personality and power of mbn as chief rival, humie him, and then make a show of kissing mohammed bin nayef's ring, as if he was ing submissive. (bin nayef and bin salman): >> mohammed bin nayef went along with this little bit of choreography only to be moved into, effectively, house arrest. now, it's a nice house, it's a palace. t he's held there incommunicado under essentially palace arrest. t former crown prince was inharge of saudi arabia's security services, he has beenbe relieved of all position.

>> smith: within hours of the salman to congratuim.mmed bin >> mohammed bin nayef may have been the c.i.a.'s bests riend, lost friend, let alone jared kushner's. the trump white house had chosen its saudi friend and that, and that was mbs. ♪ (man shouting command) >> smith: overnight, mbs had smi engineered a hugely successful maneuver. as you understood it-- and tau're close to the saudis-- how did you unde the need to oust mohammed bin nayef? >> my sense that the-the urgency that the kininand the crown prince felt as to the need for changes in the kin economic and political structure was such that it compelled them to make that decision.(s oldiers shouting)

>> smi: with mohammed bin yef removed, the new cro prince, mbs, was now firmlinar . >> he became the guy running the royal court. he became the defense minister. and he had also taken overta effective control of thein interiortry from crown prince mohammed bin nayef.ince the whole ball of wax was noin the hands of one man in a wayat as really unprecedented. ♪ >>mith: saudis were alread gettingea peek at what mbs's reforms would look like. (riders screaming happily) this fun zone had open inside a riyadh mal along with all the rides and ieops is a b multiplex m theater showing all the latest features. cinemas were banned for decades.

but now mbs's planas to open 350 theaters across the kingdom. (riders screaming happily)pl what peoweren't seeing ate the time was the behind-the-scenes effort to control how much freedom would be allowed. ♪ ng >> the c in the kingdom were going to unleash severalra different pressures. first, you were going to have thousands of religious police who would sa "i oppose this." you would inevitably also have thousands of other sdis,ho would say, "i want far more than you're willing to give." i think the saudis made a decision that they needed to somehow, somehow manage that. (indistinct conversation) >> smith: in saudirabia, two thirds of the country is under 30, with the largest population ofwitter users in the middle east.

you know, they expressedountry. themselves on twitter. diey used to call it the s congress. and twitter was fairly open. am>> smith: but when mbs crown prince, that would change. >> mbs begano realize that e,aping the debate on twitter, ngnipulating the inusively watchat peopletchi were writing and thinking, was going to be part of how he would control power. (street noises, children talking) >> i think it would be a while before saudis understood what was happening, that the entire landscape of twitter in saudi arabia was shifting from this open platform where people felt comfortable to express opinions

to something that was more like an instrument of oppression. ♪ >> smith: mbs would pick ath close aide, saud al-htani, to police twitter. over time mbs would rely on him do much more. (man speaking arabic) that's him at a largeth software-development competition that he organized in jeddah.n >> saudi fedr cybersecurity and programming, you are officially amazing. congraralations. (applause) >> mohammed bin salman saw in him the kind of saudi who's interested in high-tech, who knows sos al media, who ca promote, you know, mammed bin salman's profilend visions and ideas through this medium. pplause) ♪

>> smith: qahtani had one of the most influential twitter accounts in e kingdom. he is also a poet who has comped verse about the royal family. (man singing): >> he is very sharp, very witty, knows quite a lot about local culture, and knows all the journalists, knows all the intellectuals. and he's very competent. with something, he will work very hard, very disciplined, and he will do it. ♪ >> smith: one of the things he was tasked to do was to influence opinion on twitter through hundreds of real or or automated fake accounts, or ts. a cybeecurity expert who has tracked saudi digital operations

is bill marczak. >> saud al-qahtanised aal-q couple of alcoses that pple were able toe race. and they found him, you know, activen hacker forums, bragging about his abilities to createcrwitter bots andwi inuence the social media discourse. ♪ so you say, "oh, well, loo, all the tweets, like, 80% of the pro-mbs.n this hashtag are hmm, maybe all of saudi is pro-mbs." but in reality, no, there's only a few dozen people behind that. >> smith: qahtani also used twitter to go after critics, like saad al-faqih. : >> smiqih has been living three times a week, he records a broadcast fohis youtube channel out of an improvised

basement studio in north london. >> smi: people like faqih could be bombarded with scores of insults, and sometimes threatat in e space of a fof hours. qahtani's electronic force became known as an "army of flies." >> saud al-qahtani, he has got an army. their job is to face the computer and either write tweets or write cments on you ybe, e comments on facebook. these comments are dirted by him by his team, eier to promome the regi or to write things against what we write. >> smith: wh's the nature ofe thmments? >> that is the nature. the nature is that "mohammed bin salman is a great man. mohammed bin salman is a hero. and dr. al-faqih, mr. so-and-so are all traito."nd

>> smith: is it effective in screditing you?s >> it effective in terms of discrediting, but it is effective in terms of timidation. ♪ >> smith: the saudis may have even infiltrated twitter. ♪ in 2015 western intelligence officials learned that the saudis had developed ties with a according to threerces who spoke to "the new york times," they "persuaded him to peeruade into several user accounts." twitter alerteal-faqih that he may have been among those targeted. >> we found out that there was an inv itigation intthis saudi individual aually being a mole of sorts inside twitter for the royal court.

>> so being someone twitter, this employee could algedly access priva details of accounts. >> smith: and that could be valuable in terms of identifying a network of activists, let's say? >> absolutely. i think to a large extent they sort ot thow w the activists are. but what are they saying? what are they planning? what-what's ing to happen next? ♪ >> smith: the suspected mole was inside twitter for around two ars. how unusual is it for twitter tw have a mole inside theompany, downloading private messages and-and taking profile information? well, it's the first case we've heard of something le . this was the first time that twitter had ever sent out one o these, you know, stateponsoredth at messages, saying, "oh, some nation-state is-is tryi toccess yo account." t >> smith: althoure was no evidence that he shared information with the saudi government, twr, with nodi public comment, fired the engineer, ali alzabarah.

we were unable to reach him. >> he has left the united states, and he inow inside udi arabia, working in an affiliatedrganization to the royal court. >> smith: while at the royal court's media office, qahti also created a special hashtag on twitter. itltarted as a register of those opposed to prince mohammed's qatar boycott. but it grew to become much more. blacklist.al hashtag is every name on it will be looked into. ♪ >> he blacklist invites every citizen of saudi ara become an accomplice in uttifying a person to be on bcklist whether it is a policy to open up the economy, whether it is about women's driving, or

simply about hisosition on theit israeli-palestinian conflict. you might have aispute with someone. you might actually inform the authorities that they are critical of the regime. and this is, basicly, the deepest point in repression,si when is so much that it makes citizens its own arm in controlling the population.ing ♪ >> smith: a specific blacklist was put together to target journalists. saudis learnedbout it on saudi state tv. >> on that blacklist were people who qahtani thought were speaking against the crownprinct existing power structure in saudi arabia. ♪ >> smith: as the blacklist

expanded, qahtani made sure everyone knew who was directing him.m. own whim?hink i'm acting on my i am a civil servant and a faithfulxecutioner of the orders of the king and the crown prince." >> interesting thing about mbs o is that you'd think with all the would have begun tx.olidated, he the opposite happened. he seemed to g g more hyper, i moense, more committed to going after his-s enemies, the-the re powerful he berame.ay >> your targete outside your monitoring domain. is passive monitorinenough? you need more. >> smith: the royal court also reached out to an italian surveillance outfit, hacng team. >> you have to hack your target. exactly what we y .: >> smimpanies that sell hacking and tracking software t their citizens is at to spy on

multim lion-dlar business. >> rely on us. >> smith: hacking team received an email from a saudi rodress in 2015. "csidering your esteemed reputation and professnalism, we herat the center for media monitoring and analysis at the saudi royal court would like to be in productive cooperation withou... be so kind as to sentous the complete list ofervices that your esteemed company offers. saud al-qahtani." we couldn't reach hacking team. but it was just one of the rveillanceompanies the saudis reached out to. ♪ oman speaking in arabic)ha london conference i attended, dissidents discussed their r ars of being surveilled.

>> smiday the sauditoda government has the power to hack any of its citizens. ♪ >> smith: in m 2018 yahya al-airi received a text messagfrom a source he did not recognize. >> smith: al-assiri was put in touch with bill marczak at citizen lati >> we were able to both identify the link that he'd received was connected to nso group's pegasuw are.rc company that develops spyware

called pegasus. >> it can turn your phone micrhone on, it can turn on your phone camera, it turns e.ur earphone in a spy it can break any encrypted message on your phone. that's technology mbs got from his new friends in secret in israel. ♪ >> smith: is there activist le yahya al-assiri can do to prevent themselves from being hacked? >> unfortunately, the's really not. for these sorts top-tier targets, when the government is willing to expend essentially unlimited resources to go after these guere's really not all that much they can do. ♪ >> smith: nso did not comment oi asri's case but told us it

does not tolerate misuse of itse software oit it to be used for spyingn critics or journalists. ♪ back in saudi arabia, jal khashoggi had not been able to work for months.s. he could travel, but he was still banned from writing, tweeting, or appearing on tv. >> he was still hoping that this decree or order will be reversed. so he said, "maybe if i toe the line for a while, then the change." then i sim later, and stillde the has not been changed. "i have to do someaboutyou know, this. me being at home, not being able to, you know, tweet, write, especial write, is-is-is noer loearable." ♪

>> whahas been described as a coordinated crackdown on dissent in the country. >> sau authorities have carried out arrests of over 40 critics... >> more than a dozen prominent women's activists were arrested. >> smith: then, in september 2017, mohammed bin salman's purges began. >> they arrested a huge number ofiberal-minded reformers. >> smith: dozens of men and women-- writers, academics, businessople, d an economist-- were rounded up. >> the crown prince is clear. anybody who goes against him, ey're in trouble. >> smith: essaal-zamil had just returned from the u.s., where he had been partadf an official saudielegation. : >> smit in a series of posts on social media, he had cast doubt on prince mohammed's valuation of a saudi aramco i.p.o.p. >> smith: that wld lead his h arrest.

after a year in prison, he was charged for "seeking to stir u u sedition in the kingdom through his twitter coun" prominent religious figures were also arrested.os one of the mt well-known was salman al awdah. among those outside of offici cleril establishment, does anyone mpare to your father in terms of populary? >> none whatsoever.ng i mean, he's bollowed by 14 million followers. the king has six or seventh million followers. >> smimi: at the t te of his arrest, the saudled boycott of qatar was in its third month. in this tweet, al-awdah expressed hope that the two leaders-- mband the emir of qatar-- could be reconciled. >> he was just praying. p an,they said literally to h "neutrality in this crisis is treason."easo

>> smith: that ledo his arrest, in fact? >> yeah. that's why they are seeking now.h penaltdeagait him right for mohammed bin salman, these are threats his absolut authority.y. ♪ >> smith: al-awdah was charged including "spreadicordenses,se and inciting against the ruler." >> he was probably the foremosn figureudi arabia associated with a kind of religious-reform current that leanededowards democracy. so whatever the kingdom says they've arrested him for, they really arrested him for being salman al-awdah. >> smith: tell me ho father was treated when he was hen arrested. >> he was treated really, really badly. ♪ he was blindfolded, handcuffed

isl the time, even in the ll. chains were put feet. he was interasgated for days, continuously, without allowing him to sleep. ♪ >> smith: as reports of the arrests appeared, jamal khashoggi's name began surfacing sh articles. editor at "the gton post" took notice. re >> we earing the rephets about the crackdown. and i w jamal khashoggi's name being quoted a few pces about e situation. and i just figed, "well, why not reach out to him?"im and so i gave him a call. ♪ >> smith: khashoggi had recently left saudi arabia. en e'd settled in d d i sat down to talk with him.

rolling, he spoke ally fore a moment. he told me he was uncertain about what he would do here.do s : muzzled. >> smith: soon after, khashoggi decided what to do. he published his first column in "the washington post." "saudi arabiauwasn't always this repressive. now it's unbearable." >> he was upset when salman awdah was arrested. he was upset when other activists was arrested.. and kept saying, "these are moderate people. these are not the extremists. moderate people."inghe ♪ >> i think he was in some ways

confused about the sit. i mean, he really supported the vision of e reforms thatha ed bin sman had. i mean, it was a very personal essa you see that he was wrestling with his decion to speak out or not. and we deced to translate itin arabic, so that people into the whole arab world could read it >> smith: did you recognize at that point that there was any danger in this for him? >> mortal danger? no. personal sacrifices?persur yes, of . ♪ s th: en came november. first, the prime minr of lebanon, saad hariri, was ordered to come to riyadh. >> he was asked to come to the

palaas for a meeting, and he w taken away, put in a room.th >> smi: he's handcuffed, he's... >> he's slapped, he's maltreated. >> smith: the saudis charged that hariri had not do enough to counter iranian influence in lebanon. >> smith: he was put on a saudie tv channeling a resignation letter. >> a truly remarkable evenbl prime minister hariri is essentially orred-- more or less at gunpoint-- to give up his job. >> smith: he said he was resigning because iran was interfering inebanon and fomenting "discord aco destruction in theegion.io >> the kind of aggressive tone against iran is nosomething that hariri has endorsed or will endorse. and so they knew iwas a forced resignation.

>> smith: he was eventually released and would rescind his resignation. but there wamore. >> mohammed bin salman is flexing his political muscle in ways not sfore... >> smith: on the very same day hariri was detained,bs began roundingp 200 of the kingdom's richest businessmen and st poweul princes. >> these are incredible times ii >> some of the det reportedly held here, riyadh's glamorous ritz-carlton. >> ...es .cially the older guard, are extremely worried by these changes... >> the ritz was in essence the big bang. it brought in a massive number of peopl theyere presented with very detailed files of their financial shanigans. and were in essence told, "youa need to repay what you have taken from the kinom by exploiting your sition or yourts cont >> smith: and if they pushed back or they refused to pay, wh was the consequence? >> they didn't leave.

>> i have a personal friend who was arrested. >> smith: who was that? g >> i'm nng to name him, but i mean, he-he-he went through in detail. he was brought to the ritz at 4:00 a.m. in the morning ♪ it he sai was extremely well-orgized. they checked him in, gave him at medical asked him if he had any medicines at he needed, and then gave him a room... where the door had to be kept openobut he had full access t room service and a t and he was interrogated, i think, for a month. ♪ and then he wareleased. nod i don't know if he sese anything, but by standards, frankly, i would have rather been arrested like him than bebe arrested in a ja in america. ♪ >> they say it's all about corruption. i really don't believe that. ar there are others who e

whispering about wheuter this is really about a consolidation of power. >> smith: corruption was pervasive in the kingdom. how can you describe the level of corruption that you were facing, that you were confronted with? how do you make e point? >> it was so bad that it was actually truly impacting the development -of the country. we're talking about billions ofand billns and billion dollars. and when we looked at all theti various s, this was probably the best optionly avaiaible. was it perfect? absolutely not. ♪ >> smith: miesidentrump condoned the round-up. ♪ but for jamal khashoggi, it wasn't just about corruption. hat is absolely clear after saturday'sght of the long knives' is that crown prince

mohammed bin salman is centrazing all power withinsi his on as crow aprince." >> he likened mbs to putin. ust saw ththgs getting worse and worse and worse. >> smith: he was very upset by the events at the ritz-carlton. >> and especially by what ened to waleed bin talal >> smith: al-waleed bin tala longtime friend and supporter of khashoggi's, and saudi araa's most famous investor. >> jamal khashoggi's feeling was as he would refer to mbs, "if atthis kid was able go ar and arrest somebody like waleed thbin tala you know, thee are no bounds to what he'soing to do to people like him." ♪ ♪ >> smith: but it would take time for the re of e world to understa the ritz-carlton purge as khashoggi had. prince al-waleed was held for 83

days. >> what was itike, your royal highness, being held captive by your own cousin?pe >> franklying, it was not easy, you know, i have to confess that, to be heldil against your >> how would you describe your relationship? >> no one believe it.my elationship right now with prince mohammed bin salman, this guy, is not only as strong as before-- stron sr. and this is shocking to many. peop >> you've forgiven him? >> i didn't say forgiven. i forgotor fven the whole process completely, it's behind me, completely.te comple. >> reports of the ritz indicate tortured detaies, and coerced... >> smith: but as other peopleea were reld, reports of abuse press.rture seeped out to the >> nmates required to sign overfo their unes in order to be released. >> smith: family members of detainees have told reporters that mbs's close aide, saud al-qahtani, acted as their

interrogator. >> what's been pretty clear is that he played a principal role te theitz-carlton being turned into this gold-ppron. there were gradations of treatment, and the death of at least one person in custody, a general, the story was that he died of a heart attack. but according to family members, he had been beatene severely. ♪ >> smiththere were reports oth harstreatment, beatings and even death- >> i heard those reports, but i'veever seen any-any reflection of that. >> smith: you have no suspicion about beings?so none er, none whatsoever. and the fact that-that these people we put up in-in-in the ritz-carlton, to me indicates otthat the intention is-is n to... (laughs)o ..flict physical or emotional harm on themthbut rather to get to the truth.

>> smith: do you believe anybod was coerysically at the ritz-carlton? >> i d't know. >> smith: it's possible. >> anything is possible. os all i can say is that the exercise was to bring in vy senior members of the saudi financial, business communityu and say, "ve money which doesn't belo to you. it belongs to thsaudi people. we would like that bacat now go o and livyour life e way you did previously." ♪ >> smith: easier said than done. >> you know now, ministers and princeand big businesspeople are locked up. even once they're let out, i'm to at least, most of them have ankle bracelets, they cannot fly. e they hen publicly humiliated and put under and constant observation. ♪ >> smith: just after the ritz-carlton arrests, i had asked mbs again to sit down

for an interview. ♪ an ile, mbs's war in yemenn had gone from bato worse. in novemovr 2017, after a houthi , missile landed near riyae saudis imposed a blockade, making it possible for food or fuel to get through. two thirds of the countrs population was already facingla veod shortages. hospitals were olmed with an outbreak of cholera. ♪ (baby ying distantly)nt after international pressure, the saudis eased thelockade. but civilian casualties from air

attacks and land mines continued to mount (translator): >> smith: spokesman for theud saled campaign in yemen, major neral ahmed ri. >> let me tell something. when you conduon a military operatn, mista could happen. and there is no single allegaon we does not investigate. >> smithdodoou have a count of the number of civilian deaths that have resulted from your operatns? how many civilians have died as a result? >> no, we don't have numbers of civilian death of, cause of the... the yemeni vernment have this. >> smith: okay, what was their number? >> ask the yemeni government >> smith: by the e of 2017,of thousandivilians had already been killed, many more wounded. (shouting playfully) ♪ (music♪laying on spear)

♪ despite the ring death toll,mm when prince mo arrived at the white house a few months later, president trump was pushing him to b more weapons. >> we make the best military product in the world, whethe it's missiles or planes,r anything else, there's nobody that even cos close. >> some of the things that have been approved and are currently under constructins and will be delivered to stodi arabia ve soon, and that's for their protection but if you look in terms of dollars-- $3 billion, $533 million, $5 million-- at's peanuts for you, should have increased it. $880... ♪ >> smith: the visit was the beginning of a nearly three-week tour of the u.s. even with his purges and the war in yemen, prince mohammed'sy populas a reformer was reaching its peak. re >> you'lmber he came to

the unit states and was lauded, literally from coast tot coast. >> he will have visited five states, four presidents, five newspapers, uncounted moguls, and oprah.wa >> hpraised as a revolutionary, as the saudi reformer, as the head of what would be the saudi spring. buy what the crowne is world selling? >> he seems to be sincere. >> it was a major pr oration. vrt of that operation was wall street titans, salley, and hollywood. >> the tech people, the movie people, theieieyes were quite glittering. people who hadn't oney of there before. >> people were mesmerized. >> you did have is sit-down with mbs. >> notable journalists in the u.s. thomasriedman, actually embraced him big-time. >> he'not just leading this from the top down, whoa! its exploding from the bottom

. >> smith: he also made a point groups in new yorkwish-american >> to withe support of jishsh lead, he needed to say somethg different about israel and about the palestinians. and he did.ri >> the crowne says that israelis should have the rig r to their own lanhis will b b the prelude of a new era, a new relationship between saudi arabia and israel.o >> smith: he aanted his first ever american tv interview to "60 minutes." >> his reforms inside saudii arabia have been revolutnary. >> smith: mbs brought his media visor along with him, saud al-qahtani. bs are women equal to men? we(translated):ut are all human beings, and there's no difference. >> he's pushing throforms that have expanded freedoms including those of women, he's a fierce oonent of iran... >> he said, "women are equal to men. we're going to lift the women driving ban. 're going to allow more womenpo in leadershition."

so he's saying all theight things. but you caonly dec dve people that far. >> smith: shortly after his turn hom thean against women driving was due to be lifted. one of the activists who had campaigned for it was loujan al-hathlou (speaking arabic): amith: she made headlinesn 2014 when she postid of herself driving from the u.a.e. to saudi arabia. >> smith: she was arrested and held for 73 days in a saudi jail and then released. t as saudi women waited for d e driving ban to end, the royal court ordeujan to be rearrested along with other prinent women's rights activists.vi ♪ >> we are very much concerned about whats going n saudi arabia right now.

>> security forces swept up one of the kinom'sarly feminists, but it has come at the cost... >> i think mohmed bin salman reized that the women's moveme in saudi arabia is nono simply about driving, it's about rights. and they wernot going to stop at driving a car. the car was a symbol of theirf oppression. >> smith: we spoke to loujanl' al-hathlsister from her home outside saudi arabia. >> when i learned that loujan was arrested, i was so scared. ♪ it was in the middle of the day. ♪ f five mennde women came. they were blocking the street, so all neighbors witnessed what happened ♪ my parents, they wer wextremelyh panicked. my mom said, "why you are

arresting my daughter?" but they just went up, and they grab her from her bedroo they-they took her. ♪ >>mith: the other arrests >> they are tellinwod. a message, that, "you should not ask for more rights. >> when they went to hatoon al-fassi's house, they brought klieg lights and lit up the neighborhood. and they did it in front of her they don't, they don't do that. jamal was thone who showed me the saudi newspaper that has all of their faces and, "traitor, traitor, traitor." i mean, i cannot tell you how shocking that was.wa ♪ >> smith: at least 12 women d threremen were arrested because of their activ

human rights groups believe the number to much higher. khashoggi wrote, "reon and intimidation are not-- never should be-- the acceptable compions of reform." he urged mbs to "order the release of hathloul... and the other women who campaigned for women's right drive." ♪ but they were not released.t hathloul's parents were not allowed to startisiting her until months later. >> my mom and my father went to jeddah. they took the plane to visit ♪ ujan at dhahban prison. a when they saw her, sheas weak, very weak. and there was red marks er her face. they asked her, "did t torture you?"

and she said... she said, "no, i am fine, you know. don't worry about ." and they insisted. and after that, she just startng crcrying, crying. she couldn't stop. and moment she stopped, she start breathing. and shanshowed them her thighs. and it was not only bruises.nl it was burned.ne it was so dark. ♪ and she said, "they were going to tow me in the sewage system." her.they were repeating this to she thoughshe was going to die. and during the torture session,

she recognized specifically on man. and he is a highly rankedan advisor. >> smith: who was that? >> his name is known every kere. it was saud al-qahtani. ♪ >> smith: some of the other women arrested also endured torture-- samar badawi, aziza al-yousef, eman al-nafjan, shadan al-onezi, and nouf al-dosari. there are also reporsexual harassment and assault. s detailwere sent by multiple sources to hum rights groups outside saudi arabia. >> the statement that we got m fry of the s srces, that all of the women were tortured. and placed, of course, iso tary confinefint. women would be strped naked anassaulted sexually.th

ey would be beaten, electrocuted. to see those wom who have for years been really a source of strength for other women, to set them t this way, for me, i know these women. i know how dignified, how carini and concerned about thei country they are. there is no other way, except iat they want to put tho a position where they're completely bken and silenc. ♪ (car horns honking) >> smith: qaht>>i has not t commented on ature allegations. al-hathloul attempted to report r torture to officers of thehe saudi human rights commission who had visited her in prison. >> the human rights commission visited her.d and she said, "are y going to protect me?" because she gave them the name s d al-qahtani, and she is so scared of that.ey aid, "of course we can't."

>> smith: we cannot. >> "we canno n of course we cannot." >> smith: tried to call the human rights commission to get a comment. they didn't respond. we decided to just go over there. (smith speakinabic): >> no. (smith): (men speaking arabic)pe okay? i was ushered into what i hoped was dr. aiban's office. he heads the human rits commission. (phone ringing distantly)) they don't know k to do with us.

hello.>> abah al-noor. >> smith: fifilly, i was greeted by a translator, aziz, and an office assistant. >> smith: as you know, there's lots of controversy right now about the handling of prisoners, about the conditions in theons prisons, about the conditions for the women paicularly. >> smith: okay, is he here? >> smith: he's trying g call him. why is it so difficult to tt an appointment to see dr. aiban?ibn >> smith: spite it being a workday, i got nowhere. (man speaking arabic) (assistant speaking arabic): >> smith: good luck to you. (aziz speaking arabic) ♪

(smith):): i never received a call back. but i kept trying. (phone ringing) hello, hello? yeah. i am looking to speak with dr. aiban. (speaking arabic)ar dr. aiban. number is wrong?ok , thank you. >> (on phone): hello? >> smith: yes, hi, i want to speak with dr. aiban. (phone hangs up) ♪ i also tried to contact th public prosecutor and the minister of justice. by the time i spoke to foreign minister adel al-jubeir, eight months h gone by since al-hathloul and the other women were arrested. >> we refuse the charge of torture. i don't believe that's the case. and i think the procedures,s. legal proceduresn saudi arabia, have to play out.ar >> smith: they've been held wiout trial. >> we, they will be going through the courts. they are not activists.

there's evidence of links to forefon entities. there's evidence of attempting to recruit people in sensitiveon pos. >> smith: that's the charge, but that hasn't been proven. >> it will be proven in court. >> smith: whdo you hold responsible for what's happened to your sier? >> good question. i have some idea, but i don't know if i can share it. every time i talk, every time i to see if there are consequences on me, on my sister, my family. saudi arabia was never a r,mocracy. however,vet was a police state. and i feel it's becoming kind unfortunately.ate, >> the saudi governmver

went after family members. now the system is actually engaged in colleive forms of. punishme >> smith: in dc, khashoggi was t also feeli wrath of mbs.f mb his son, salah, the only one of his children still in saudill travel. had been forbidden to >> one of the first things he said to me is, "they've t my n on a travel ban. and it's just nofair.fa he's not political at all. and there's nothing i can do about it." y >> andderstanding is that he sent a message to saud al-qahtani, telling him, "this has come to very low standards that you are now going after my son." but he received no response from saud al-qahtani. >> smith: his wife, fearing forn heher fafaly's safety, asked for a divorce.vorc >> a that was, that was extremely painful to him. >> smith: jamal waalso being flssed on twitter by qahtani's notorious army os.

>> what we talked about is, dids i know anybody at twitter to turn it off. ♪ it was the bots, the army, the flies. >> i can say that there was certainly a sense of animus toerds jamal khashoggi beca of his unrelenting criticism of the kingdoin a national newspaper in the capital of the saudis' closest partner. >> and i think mbs felt nuinely threatened about this "washington post"-supported journalist who was criticizing mbs himself, personally. to >> he talked about the kind of threats he was getting.ti but he was also heartened by the positive feedback f was getting from saudis he never t, and people reaching out to him and saying, "yes, you ar doing the right thing, yes, youn are speaking on all of our behalf. thank you for doing what you are doing."

>> smith: and he had, with time, found a new ve, someone who shared his interest in arab urursh academic, tice cengiz. >> when i saw him the last time, he was happy. going to spend more time ing i'm turkey now." >> smith: d he kept writing about the prince he haonce supported. was to see his people enjojoso of the same freedoms that he had here in washington, in the u.s.u >> smith: he submitted his last article on sepmber 28, 2018. >> over time, i think jamal felt more and more at independent journalism whe way to he was a young man.anted since george orwell gave as a title of a column that he wrote, "as i please," y y know, "ii ite as i please." jamal khashoggi was a version

of that. he was somebody who wrote what t ught, wrote whe he believed. ♪ >>admith: do you think jamal any idea that he was playing with fire? >> i think that jamal hadn'ty fualized h different the system had become. i think that he thought that this was a regime that didn'te blood unnecessarily, th did not kill dissidents overseas. and i think heas w wng. he misjudged how things had changed. ♪ >> he was >>st seen in istanbul. gone to?where do you think he' >> well, this is the question that everybody is asking. jamal khashoi, he went missing tuesday, he went to the consulate building of saudi arabia in istanbul. >> speaking on turkish tv, ms. cengiz explained that he was

collect documents for the marriage, and for that she lt guilty... >> smith: the murd took place on october 2. four days later, the saudiul coenerer gave a reporter a tour of the consulate. lke saudis' story was that dinglive. had wa out of theth (consul speaking arabic): e yingmith: thudis were he had gone missing somewhere in turkey. turkish officials were furious. >> they're like, inste i of their providing answers to us,al they're ac slying that,th "oh, it's your problem now. he's missing in rkey." that was the tippi point for

turkish officials. >> smith: at the pro-government turkish newspaper, "sabah," reporters started getting detas fr turkish intelligence and the police.ma nazif ka (speaking turkish): ♪ >> sth: by the time the repoers had learned d out the two saudi planes, the jets h left istanbul. then they were told more. durrahman msek (speaking turkish):

>> smith: yasin aktay,or to turkey's president erdogan, heard details of the murr. when you learned that the police had concncdethat he had beenha murdered, can you describe that moment? >> that moment was very, very difficult for me. they said me, "they're, they're animals, theare animals. they're, they're worse than animals. they-they killed himdogs, and they, he was crying." and i, ii,-i cried. >> i just couldn't come to myself for a couple of minutes. that they cut him into pieces. (horn honks) >> smithi texted mbs. e ths no response. i tried again. ♪ ow

did u am khashoggi? >> yes.es i've known him since the late '80s. >> smith: and what kind of man was he? >> he was a journalist, an editor, he was a kind person. and he was... he hadamily, he had children. d >> smith: and what happe him? consulate in iste bul in what is a hugeistake that has shocked the whole country, and that we havevexpressed our commitment to hold those accountad e and to make sure, work on procedures to reform the secuty serces so that wewe minimize the occurrence of such tragic mistake in the future. ♪ mith: jubeir says they areit cod to investigating what happenedpp

but from the binning, the saudis tried to cover it up. >> the saudi sry kept changing over the coursof two weeks. inconsistencies were really clear. >> this is one of the most peculiar, perplexing news eventn that iecall in some time. >> the evidence keeps building.e newly reed video shows a saudi man who looks a ttle like khashgi... >> here's, he's caught on cctv arriving at the consulate, wearing... >> smith: surveillance footageow showedhe team initiallym in tried to fool ooe police into consulate alive.ggi left the >> he walks outside, in khashoggi's clothes and glasses. >> smith: but the police immediatelmeotted what was a body double. >> same clhes, same glasses, same beard bsame age and build. everything but thehoes. >> smith: why dimithe double noh take kgi's shoes?? >> he took the shoes, actually, but he couldn't... >> smith: ey wouldn't fit? >> yeah, and head of the

isd nbul police, he realized at the-the, you knowshoes is different. >> smith: the saudis had clung to the lie that khashoggi was alive. >> it's more dp-fed, uncorroboratable intelligence that's sent riyadh io a nic. >> smith: then turkish intelligence revealed they had audio tapes. >> ...turkish and u.ials sayssahe recordings offer proof khashoggi waterrogated, tortured, and murdered. >> smith: the detas reveal were gesome. the audio was not released to the public. abut some reporters learnut its ntents. >> to be honest, i don't think it's somethihat hauld really be shared wi theublic, violence, even though it's justh a audio recording. (simsek): av

>>you heard that tape? and does it conclusively point in the crown princncas ord the killing of jamal khashoggi? >> no, i haven't listened to it. and i guess i should ask you why do you think i should. what do you think i'll learn from it? unless you speak arabic, what are you going to get from it? a smithwithin a week,ee national security advisor john bolton and jared kushner had called riyadh.

soon after secretary of state mike pompeo flewflo saudi arabia to meet with the crown prince. ♪ meanwhile,he case for prince mohammed's involvement was tightening. >> after weeks of denials, saudu arabia is changing its tune. >>audi arabia now going furtr, admitting that the killing looks to have been premitated. >> these w we not low-ranking fires, so they couldn't ha th what they did oblivious to the prince, coul? >> smith: the turkish media had identifiedfill 15 of the saudis who flew into istanbul. >> who are these people who are on this 15-man team, one of om is a foreics, autop expert? >> smith: five of them are reported to have worked under mbs's aide saud al-qahtani at the royal court. and one key team member was on

lthe crown ince's persoince security detail-- the alleged ringlead on the ground, maher mutreb. >> one man, maher mutreb, he's been seen traveling with the crown prince all over the world, potentially as a bodyguard... >> after t murder, the saudis called mbs's private office. it's inconceivable that mohammed ♪ n salman didn't know. >> smith: you went on television, on fox ns, on october 21, anyou said thatu sa none of those involved in khashoggi's death had close es to saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman. >> because he s, prince... ese were security individuals. security people have rotatio, they sometimes serve for specific times in terms of security or other issues. >> smith: but these weren't just serity individuals. mutreb, who traveled extensively with the crown prince, including in the united states, was on th scene. are you saying that you didn't know that e people that we involved in the murder were

close to the crown prince at tha time that yo that? >> they... the crown prince has a lot of people who are close tc him wim to be close to him. he has a lot of people who take thr pictures with him...th >> sthen i asked about qahtani. sihtani allegedly ran the operation from o turkey. >> smith: qahtani wasn't just one of a lot of people. >> look, this is... you're asking all tuestions... >> smith: he's, he was a close aide to the crown prince. where is he now? >> you should ask the public blosecutor. >> smith: ththpu prosecutor won't talk to us. l> then, then you should c him again. ♪ >> smith: how is it possibw that mohammed n salman dsaot know of this operation? >> well, i have stated that i>>w believe it's very unlikely he did not know of at least a rendition. i can easily imagine that the decision-making might've al-qahtani saying, have thise dissident.

we will conduct a renditioa operation from istanbul," and being told, "go ahead." >> smith: you have contacts within saudi arabia at high levels that tell you that this was a nditn?n? >> yes. ♪ is smith: but the saudis i mbs gave no such authorization.y theyt s a rogue operation. you're saying that this is being investigated by the public prosecutor? >> yes.: >> smit at the same time, you have declared it a rogue operation. so you've reached a conclusion gaat this was a rogue operation isore the inveson is complete? >> ocourse it's a rogue operation. nobo authorized this. o would authorize the murder of a citizen... >> smith: how do we know until there an investigation? >> it seemt to me that you have watched the due proces..ou >> smith: nove made up your mind that it's a rogue operation. >> it is, it is a ro operation because there is no authorization for them to commit this crime. there was no autrization for them to commit this crime. that's why it's a rogue operation. >> smith: how do we know thaknas

this w rogue operation? you say it's a rogue operation. a >> uh, because, because our leadership says it was a rogue operation, and our ldership has not lied to us before. so we believe them. >> smith: there wereies of statements made immediately khashoggi that have proven to be false, that have proven to be lies.ha >>were based on reporting by this rogue element. and they're going to be taken to court and face their-their fate. ♪ >> smith: the saudis have e en unclear about who auorized the operation. buthey have said one man, general ahmed al-asirithe former spokesman for mbs' war in men, as involved in the planning. >> smithyou know general asiri. >> yes. >> smith: do you think he's in any way capable of mounting an eration like this? >> on his own? absolutely not.ea he wouldn't up a plot like this. this is a servant of the state, used to ta tng orders. it's just not in the nature of

how the saudi bureaucracy works. they got caught red-hand. they attempted to co up with a cover story. up. the cover story doesn't add , it was carried out poor anththe coveup was one of worst in the history of cover-ups. >> smith: there are y holes in your story, the story that you put out there even the president in the unite, states sthis is the worst cover-up i've ever seen." >> with all due respect, we-we t out the stories as we have it, based on the facts that were established. we have never, in the history of saudi arabia, had a situion where a saudi citizen was rdered. this is not how we operate, and this is not what our values are. g>> smith: is there anyth about is young princthat worries you? is?you kw what my only w i reached an age where i don't know if i'll be aroundthe

fruits of what is happening in w saudi arabl be picd. because i see the kingdom moving in-in a very, very straight way towards the wellbeing of of-of saudis and hopefully the wellbeing of the world. ♪ >> smith: on november 16, the c.i.a. concluded that prince mohammed ordered the murder of khashoggi.i. they refused to comment publicly about it. but secretary of state mikeofar pompeo did. >> i've read every piece of intelligenceunless it's come in the last few hours. there isdirect reporting connecting the crown prince to the order to mder jamal khashoggi. and that's all i can say in an unclassified setting >> smith: but immediately after pompeo's comments, someoneum leed ary of the report to a "wall street journal" reporter, warren strobel. yeah, i've got it right here.y you're the oporter that

i'm aware of that has seen that c.i.a. report.t. >> i believe i am the only reporter even to this day who has seen the c.i.a. report. >> sth: why were you shown this report? te i don't know, to this day. i can only specu my analysis is that this person s upset that the intelligencpo was berayed differently byhe president orethe unitnt states and secretary of state mike pompeo. >> they do point out certain things, and in pointing out those things, you can conclude that maybe he did or maybe he but there's... that was another part of the false reporting. of state mike pompeo over anda over have pointed to the fact that u.s. intelligence does not have evidence of a kill order. but they sort of stop there. and if you actually read the c.i.a. assesent, ai have, everything else in that points a finger at thcrown prince as having a role. >> the c.i.a. has look at it, they'vstudied it a lot, they have nothi definitive. we are with saudi aria. we're stayayg with saudi arabia. have a good time, everybody,

thank you. >> the predent here is positioning himselto be able to not take tougher measures against saudi arabia... >> trump's response is a slap in the face to the intelligence ♪ mmunity. >> smith: and there was more. it was reported onat he day of the murder, maher mutreb made a call. he said, in fect, "tell your boss the deed was done." >> t phone number as being called in riyadh washe crown prince's office. doesn't get much better than that. if you call the white house situation room, i me to the conclusion the white house knows what's going on. >>lkmith: last dember i ta to prince mohamm at the race track. he spoke aboutis role in the khashoggi murder for the first time. my cama was outside, but he said: "it happenednder my watch.

i get all thl responsibility, because it happened under my watch. i really take it very seriously i don't want to tell youteo 'ni didn't do it or i d do it', or whater. that's just words." i asked him how it could happen without him knowing about it. "accents happen. can you imagine? we have twenty million people.ew we have three million government employee i am not google, or a supercomputer to watch over three million."io "they can take one of your anes?" i asked. have officials, ministers to follow things, and they're responsible, they ve the authority to do that." "but during it, qahtani is teing you. "yea texts me every day." i was rious about those texts. they had been cited in the c.i.a.eport linking mbs to

the killing of khashoggi. ♪ mbs insisted they were innocent. latei learned that the saudis had hired a business intelligen firm, kroll, to examine the texts. want to share them with the c.i.a. i was allowed to looat kroll's report in washington. the texts don't refer to khashoggi or say anying about a kidnapping or a murder.r a d but then the nsa discoveey had some damning evidence all along. they just di't realize i >> after khashoggi's killed, the united states intelligence l community starkingki backwards, scrubbing intercepts that they had picked up ov years. >> smith: and they find mbs chatting with qahtani back in 2017. >> mohammed bin salman is expressing frustration and

annoyance about khashoggi, saying he's becoming more influential. >> smith: qahtani cautioned prince mohammethat any move against khashoggi was risky d could create an international uproar. mbs scolded qahtani for being too toutious.to and then... >> there's a conveation between mohammed bin salman and other influential advisor, and princeohammed says, "if we can't bring jamal back by force, we sh ld show him abu et." >> thank you for waiting. saudia flight... with service to riyadh like to continue boarding with all passgers sitting in rows two, three, and four. >> smith: i returned to saudi arabia one last time in april 19 e crown prince had promised to meet witme again. i came prepared with many more estions. ♪

when i arrived, he changed his mind.t i was le to ask any more questions about the khashoggi murder. but more evidence kept on coming. june, agnes callamard, a united nations human rights expert, issued the most detailed report to date on the khashoggi killing. i saw her in london at a conference. >> ...killing of mr. khashoggi, 15 agent flew to turkey, eight of them in a private jet whichad diplomaticlearance, two of them had diplomatic passports. there is no other conccosion but that the killing of mr.mr. khashoggi is a state. it should be seen to constituten an interna crime for which universal jurisdiction attract.

>> smith: in preparing h report, callamard was granted access to the audio recordingsgs of the hit team as ty discussesetheir plans. >> i listened to the tapes within the premise of the turkish intelligence. >> smith: and you heard ath conversatiti. tell us about that conrsation. >> so that conversation is within an hour before the killing. w mutreb is askither or not the trunk of the body will fit into a normal bag. "does it need a stronger bag? how do you disjoint a body?" that too is being discussed. tubaigy, the doctor,aises some issues regarding having to cut on the ground, because he's never done that. they are seemingly rehearsing,th planningact of killing an hour later. >> five mo fhs since the horrible murder... >> smith: at the london conference, callamard joinedkh

hoggi's fiancée anhers calling for r report to spur further action. >> i would like to ask you allse tohis report as a means tohis uevent an a aempt to silence us or push the matter tma carpet. >> this is about the freedom of people to say what they want, to tweet what they want, to blog what they want, to speak abo what they want without fear that >> t t fact that the killing of jamal khashoggi is still makingt the news, eeds to continuentbecause that's what is going to annoy the hell out of them and be the mosquito in the te that they can't eveget rid of. >> thank you very much, agnes, thank you. (appus

♪ >> smith: to date, mbs has offered no apology for the killing in khashoggi, and he still insists those responsible will be brought to justice for what he called a heinous crime. in the meantime, he continues to rsue his vision 2030. ("feel so close" by calvin harris playing) (dj talking indistinctly) h ere we go, one, two, two, three, go! ! ev>> smith: with sporting ts and big concerts, he is trying to win the arts of young saudis. (pop music playing, concertgoers singing along) his defenders say that theat khashoggi murder and h campaign against dissent shouldh not outw everything else he has acaceved.

(pop music playing, cheering) es (music con, cheering) ♪ ♪

>> the philipp has ad faced harsh criticrsm for launching a bloody drug war. thousandndof people have been kled in the brutal crackdcrn. >>y campaign against drugs... (screaming) ...will not stop... (laughing) ...until the lt pusher... (shouting) ...and the last drug lord are - (throat cutting noise) >> go to pbs.org/frontline for econs on jamal khashoggi from friends and colleagues. >> i think his ultimate desire was to see his people h enjoy some of the same freedoms that he had here in the u.s.

>> see a timeline of mbs' rise to power, and our rererting on tensions in the region. >> connect to the frontline community on facebook d twitter, and watch anytime on the pbs video app or pbs.org/frontline. line is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major support is provid by the john d. ancatherine t.ther jcarthur foundation, committed to building ldmot, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on thel fres of social change worldwide. at fordfoundation.org. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism.ur the park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. the john and helen glessner family trust. supporting trustwort journalism that informs and inspires.

and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. s and additionport from ris and lisa kaneb. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> for more on this and other "frontline" programst our website at pbs.orgrontline. ♪ to order frontline's, "the crown prince"vd onvisit shoppbs or call 1-800-play-pbs. this program is also available on amazon prime video. ♪

♪ you're watching pbs. ♪ ♪ -you've said you'd f middlelass tax c ts. -the front line is just up here. that's where the river... -she took me out to those wetlands. -i tnk w.re off to a great sta ♪

male reporter: fidel castro could legitimately be regarded as either a hero or as a tyrant or as both at the sameime. narrator: in 1959, fidel castro rose to power in cuba. man: commandertro, why are you leading a revolution? narrator: he has been one of the most controversial figures in the world ever since... narrator: a political thorn inte the side of the uniteds. james c. hagerty: our sympathy goes out to e people of cuba now suffering under the yolk of a dictator. narrator: this is castro's story told through media reports... male announcer: fidel castro, "face the nation." narr: rare images... and recordings.