Senior Saudi prince accuses cousin over alleged drugging and abduction

A simmering feud at the heart of the Saudi royal family is poised to break into the open after one senior prince accused another of coordinating his abduction, sedation and forcible banishment fromSwitzerland, according to the Gaurdian.

In an unprecedented move, Prince Sultan bin Turki has filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland against his cousin Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd, as well as the current Saudi minister of Islamic affairs, Saleh al-Sheikh, claiming he was seriously injured as a result of a kidnapping that took place in June 2003.

According to Prince Sultan’s lawyers, the Swiss prosecutor Stéphane Grodecki has ordered a criminal investigation into the case. “A complaint has been filed on behalf of Prince Sultan in Geneva,” said the prince’s lawyer, Pierre de Preux. “A criminal investigation has started and is going on.” Swiss prosecutors refuse to confirm or deny whether an investigation is taking place.

The feuding princes are grandsons of the founder of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Al Saud.