RIYADH, 13 May 2003 — An Australian sentenced to 16 months’ jail here is likely to be released by early next month, Australian Ambassador Robert Tyson said here today. He said he could not confirm reports of the release of the convict on June 10. “We don’t know for sure but we are hopeful of his release next month,” he said.

Robert Thomas, who was working for a Saudi hospital, was sentenced to jail and 300 lashes after his wife, a Filipina nurse, was convicted of stealing hospital equipment in June last year. Thomas, 56, an anesthetic technician from Melbourne who worked in Saudi hospitals for a decade, was found guilty by association in the theft under Islamic law.

Thomas will be handed over to Saudi immigration after his release and put on the first plane back home, according to reports appearing in the Australian press.

Tyson said that there have been several rounds of talks with Saudi officials about Thomas’ case.

Tyson said the case of the Saudi diplomat who was murdered a few years ago in Australia was still open. Abdullah Jamaan Al-Ghamdi, first secretary at the Saudi Embassy in Canberra, was found stabbed in his apartment in Oct. 1998. The Australian police later arrested two men later in connection with the murder.

Meanwhile, Australia has warned its citizens not to travel to Saudi Arabia and Uganda citing a heightened risk of terrorist attacks. The Department of Foreign Affairs said Australians should defer all travel to Uganda’s border regions and non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia. “There is credible information that international terrorists may be in the final phase of planning attacks against Western interests in Saudi Arabia,” it said in an official travel advisory.

The advisory said the escalated security warning also reflected heightened tensions in the Middle East.

A nationwide manhunt was launched in the Kingdom this week after the Saudi government said that it uncovered a cell belonging to the Al-Qaeda terror network. The advisory warned Australian nationals to take maximum precautions while traveling or meeting people in the Middle East.

Ambassador Tyson said that he was hopeful that the forthcoming visit of the Saudi foreign minister would take place in the third week of May.