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What life is like inside Saudi Arabia's '5-star prison' — the Ritz-Carlton where some of the kingdom's richest and most powerful elites are being held

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Riyadh Ritz drive

More than 200 members of Saudi Arabia's elite, including 11 princes, are now being detained at what is quite literally a gilded prison: the Ritz-Carlton hotel in the capital, Riyadh.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is widely seen as the muscle behind the recent anti-corruption purge as he consolidates power in a way Saudi Arabia hasn't seen in decades.

In a new report, the BBC reporter Lyse Doucet and camera operator Philip Goodwin described the atmosphere at the luxury hotel as "very serious."

Doucet and Goodwin, the first journalists allowed into the hotel since the purge, were under police escort and held to strict rules not to film anyone's face or quote anyone by name.

Here's a glimpse of what life in what Doucet called a "five-star prison" is like for its inhabitants.

SEE ALSO: Inside the rapid rise of Saudi Arabia's millennial crown prince who is now leading a TIME Magazine poll for its 2017 'Person of the Year'

Lyse Doucet and Philip Goodwin were the first journalists allowed into the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton since it the Saudi government started using it to detain officials and others detained in an anti-corruption purge earlier this month.



Since November 4, no one has been allowed into the Ritz-Carlton without official permission.



Among the "guests" now are more than 200 people accused of abuse of power, corruption, and money laundering. The Saudi government is also putting up hundreds of experts to process the cases 24/7.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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