According to Saudi officials and the investigative documents, Ismail worked through a prominent Saudi dissident in London, Saad Faqih, to recruit radicals within Saudi Arabia to carry out the plot. In exchange, Faqih received $1.3 million, the documents state.
Faqih, a surgeon by training, has long been a thorn in the side of the Saudi government and has organized political opposition to the royal family from abroad since he went into exile in London in 1993. He remains well known in the kingdom for his radio satellite broadcasts, which have called for an end to the regime.
Col. Moammar Gaddafi.
(Yousef Al Ajeli -- AP)
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Although Saudi officials accuse Faqih of having close ties to al Qaeda and of supporting terrorist attacks, British officials have said they see no reason to arrest him and have allowed him to remain in London.
But Faqih's movements were restricted in December when the United Nations added him to a list of financiers and supporters of terrorism, placing him under a travel ban and freezing his assets. The U.N. decision was prompted by a joint request from Saudi Arabia, Britain and the United States. The U.S. Treasury Department has accused Faqih of paying for a satellite phone that Osama bin Laden allegedly used to carry out the U.S. Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998.
In a telephone interview from London, Faqih denied any involvement in the alleged plot to kill Abdullah and said he had never met Ismail. He said the charges by Saudi officials were their latest attempt to silence him. "The Saudis will tell you all sorts of lies," he said. "I categorically deny the story. It's all untrue."
Saudi allegations of Faqih's involvement are indirectly buttressed by records filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. In a plea agreement signed last year, Alamoudi, the American Muslim Council leader, admitted traveling frequently between Tripoli and London to arrange meetings between Libyan officials and Saudi dissidents involved in the assassination scheme.
Although Saudi dissidents are not named in the court papers, Saudi and U.S. sources familiar with the case have identified one of them as Faqih.
Researcher Robert Thomason contributed to this report.
