Saudi Arabia's King Salman sacks senior aide for photographer 'slap'
Date May 6, 2015 - 5:36AM
AFP
Saudi Arabia's King Salman, right, greets Morocco's King Mohammed VI, left. Between them, senior aide Mohammed al-Tobayshi, with his back turned after slapping away a photographer. Photo: Supplied
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's King Salman sacked a senior aide on Tuesday, shortly after a video posted online appeared to show the official slapping a photojournalist, state media said.
King Salman replaced the head of royal protocol Mohammed al-Tobayshi with Khalid al-Abbad, according to a decree published by the SPA official news agency.
In a video circulated on social media, Mr Tobayshi appeared to slap one of the photographers covering the Saudi monarch's reception of Morocco s King Mohammed VI.
The swift decision was welcomed by Saudis on social networks.
"This is decisive Salman," wrote journalist Saud al-Murshid on his Twitter account, alluding to the Saudi-led military operation against Shiite rebels in Yemen, dubbed Operation Decisive Storm.
