Maan al-Jaraba

Maan al-Jaraba (politician)
Nationality	Saudi
Saudi political dissident who claims he was attempted murdered in a similar way to Jamal Khashoggi.

Maan al-Jaraba is a Saudi political dissident. He is the leader of the Saudi opposition group Harakat al-Karama (Movement for Dignity), and has been an open advocate for the establishment of a Saudi constitution and a democratic electoral system.

Background

Jaraba belongs to an influential Sunni family, descended from the tribe of Shammar, one of the largest Arab confederations in the Gulf, and linked to the al-Saud dynasty through marriage.

Activities

He claims to follow the teachings of Saudi sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr - a high-profile Shia cleric who called for peaceful reform in the kingdom before being beheaded by Saudi authorities in early 2016 - as well as being a vocal supporter of the ideas of the former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Approached by embassy

In January 2019, after the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, al-Jaraba recounted an incident in which he says that only the presence of armed bodyguards saved him from a similar fate. The events occurred ten days before Khashoggi was killed in Turkey on 2 October 2018.

After years of being blacklisted, Sheikh Maan was contacted by Saudi embassy officials in Beirut. They said they were ready to engage in talks to bring him back into the fold. Jaraba agreed to a meeting held in a neutral public place, such as a restaurant or cafe. On the day of the appointment, Jaraba drove to the chosen meeting place accompanied by three armed bodyguards, with a more substantial security force was also on call nearby. The embassy officials who welcomed him were surprised to see the bodyguards. They thought the sheikh would come alone, though they themselves were heavily guarded.

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