Saudi opposition party says founding member assassinated in Beirut’s southern suburbs

A Saudi opposition party says one of its founding members has been killed in the suburbs of the Lebanese capital city of Beirut, and two of his brothers were arrested in connection with the incident.

The National Assembly Party (NAAS), composed of dissidents exiled in Britain, the United States and elsewhere, said in a social media post on Sunday that Manea al-Yami was slain in “complicated circumstances.”

“Upon the news of the assassination, the party has been trying to verify its details and motives,” the statement said.

“The party also holds the Saudi authorities responsible for exposing the people of this country to danger, forcing them to live in exile, and reside in unsafe environments because of their political beliefs or their demands for human rights,” it added.

A statement by Lebanon's Internal Security Forces claimed that Yami’s two brothers stabbed him to death in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh on Saturday evening.

The two brothers are in custody and admitted they murdered the 42-year-old Saudi dissident due to “family reasons,” the statement noted.

The Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Waleed al-Bukhari, praised the Lebanese authorities' efforts "to uncover the facts and bring the perpetrators to justice" in a post on Twitter.

Yami helped establish NAAS in September 2020. The opposition party is headquartered in London. It is critical of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman as well as the House of Saud and calls for an elected parliament in Saudi Arabia.

The group has also advocated for constitutional safeguards to ensure separation of the legislative, judicial and executive branches.

MG