Wikileaks to Release Half a Million Saudi Secrets

The world is finally getting an inside look into the Saudi Kingdom’s inner workings, after 60,000 sensitive government documents were uploaded to Wikileaks on Friday, with over half a million to be released in coming weeks.

WikiLeaks did not say where it obtained the documents, however it did refer to an official statement from the Kingdom in May that claimed their computer network had been hacked. Claiming responsibility is a group called Yemeni Cyber Army, who released a statement saying it "has gained access to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) network and have full control over more than 3000 computers and servers, and thousands of users. We also have access to the emails, personal and secret information of hundreds of thousands of their staff and diplomats in different missions around the world."

Despite acknowledging that their computer systems were hacked the Saudi government warn people of sharing ‘falsified’ news but has not denied any information currently being distributed.

The documents are a mix of texts, email, cables, and top secret documents and a press release by Wikileaks announced that  this was only the first batch of the leaks and there will be more leaks coming up. It added that over half a million documents will be released in batches over the upcoming weeks.

This is not the first time Wikileaks has released thousands of sensitive government documents. When Bradley Manning released a treasure trove of Iraq war information, the first reaction was the government denying their accuracy, and when stories proved to be true, made example of Manning sentencing the former soldier to 35 years in prison for leaking the information. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claimed in a statement that his website’s publication of the Saudi documents was a means of lifting the lid on an “increasingly erratic and secretive dictatorship that has not only celebrated its 100th beheading this year, but which has also become a menace to its neighbors and itself.”

Already the documents, dubbed the 'Saudi Cables', suggest secret dealings between the Kingdom and Egypt, however none of the documents are yet to be confirmed as fact. Among the most interesting allegations, is a conversation with Brotherhood leaders about releasing Mubarak in exchange for $10 billion. Giving the allegation some weight is the fact that Khairat Al-Shater, one of Brotherhood’s masterminds, claimed in 2012 that the Kingdom offered a payment of $660 million for Mubarak’s release, a claim that the Saudi’s denied then. Another damning allegation is a document suggesting that Saudi Arabia has influence over Al-Ahzar, a claim that both parties deny. In a press statement reported by the Cairo Post, Al Azhar undersecretary Abass Shouman addressed the allegation saying “However, [al-Azhar] coordinates with Islamic countries over Islam-related issues in order to avoid issuing opinions unsuitable in other countries in the Islamic world,” adding that “Despite Al-Azhar’s internationality, it refuses to be the custodian of a person, a group or a state.”

Another classified document alleges that Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal wrote to the Saudi King about an Egyptian-Sudanese plot to assassinate South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit in 2011, after his country gained independence. Once again another document that is yet to be confirmed.