Saudi Arabia: Twitter reinstates account of defected colonel criticising MBS

Twitter has reinstated the account of a Saudi Arabian man who used the platform this week to announce his defection from the kingdom's General Directorate of Public Security and publicly criticise Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In a video posted on Tuesday, Colonel Rabih Alenezi said he was abandoning his position over "dangerous violations to human rights" and "the reckless policies and political indiscretions" of the crown prince.

His account then posted a series of tweets raising concerns about a wide range of issues, including enforced disappearances, the failure of the crown prince's Vision 2030 strategy, and the treatment of the Howeitat tribe who rights groups say have been forcibly displaced to make way for the $500bn Neom megaproject.

On Wednesday, he asked where the body of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was.

Hours later, his account was suspended. Twitter did not respond to Middle East Eye's request for comment on the matter.

Late on Thursday, Alenezi's account was reinstated.

"May the peace, blessings, and mercy of God be upon you," he posted. 

Alenezi's defection comes days after Emad al-Moubayed, the former imam at the King Abdulaziz Mosque in Dammam, fled the kingdom after criticising recent reforms in the entertainment industry on social media.