Aimed at Saudi prince? Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos posts Khashoggi's memorial service pic

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has posted a cryptic tweet with a picture of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's memorial service. Bezos has written #Jamal in the tweet. Bezos' tweet comes days after a report claimed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had allegedly hacked Bezos' phone months before Khashoggi's killing.

The UK-based news daily The Guardian reported on Sunday that Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos' mobile phone was reportedly "hacked" by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in 2018.

The phone's security was compromised after he opened a malicious video file sent from the crown prince's number on his WhatsApp, it said. Citing anonymous sources in the know of an international probe into the (hacking) matter, The Guardian reported the two (Bezos and Saudi Crown Prince) had exchanged friendly messages on WhatsApp on May 1, 2018, after which the unsolicited video was sent from bin Salman's number.

The daily also cited digital forensic analysis and said the hacking targeted unknown contents of Bezos' personal cellphone during a WhatsApp conversation with bin Salman. However, Saudi Arabia said the allegation was "absurd".

Last year, Bezos' private investigator Gavin de Becker also claimed that Saudi Arabia had hacked Bezos' phone and accessed data. Becker linked the hack to The Washington Post's coverage of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. Khashoggi was killed in October 2018 -- five months after the alleged "hacking" of Bezos' phone.

The Washington Post had done a relentless coverage on the Khashoggi murder. Later, the CIA eventually determined the murder was personally ordered by the crown prince himself, despite numerous trial. Reports say that hacking Bezos' phone may have been a way to gain leverage over the Amazon CEO due to the Post's critical coverage of the Saudi Kingdom, which included columns from Khashoggi himself.

Also read: Saudi Crown Prince hacked Jeff Bezos' phone, says report

Edited by Manoj Sharma