RIYADH, 18 July 2007 — Dozens of Saudis are being held in Syrian jails on charges of trying to smuggle themselves into Iraq and other neighboring countries, the Human Rights Commission (HRC), Saudi Arabia’s government rights body, said here yesterday.
“A committee from the HRC visited Syria last week to meet officials there and also to meet the jailed Saudis,” a source from the HRC told Arab News. He said that around 30 Saudis were imprisoned there. The HRC officials have been reportedly assured by Syrian officials that some of them would be returned to the Kingdom to be tried according to the Kingdom’s laws.
“Part of the HRC’s role is to confirm reports it receives of Saudis being imprisoned abroad,” the source said.
Some of the Saudis in Syrian prisons have been arrested on criminal charges and would be sent to the Kingdom to complete their jail sentences, he said. He mentioned that the committee members had met with some of the imprisoned Saudis to check on their well-being.
The HRC lauded the cooperation of Syrian officials as well as Saudi officials at the Saudi Embassy in Damascus. The human rights body said that the same committee had visited Lebanon last week to verify whether Saudis were involved in battles with Lebanese troops during the government’s clamp-down on the Lebanese militant group Fatah Al-Islam.
“The team has seen the bodies of some of the persons who were believed to be Saudis. DNA samples have been taken to confirm their identities,” said the source.
According to local reports, several Saudis have been reported killed in Lebanon over the past weeks. The team is currently in Jordan to check if any Saudis are imprisoned there.
Meanwhile, the HRC announced yesterday that its meeting with Interior Minister Prince Naif in Jeddah earlier this week was “vivid and transparent.”
A statement from the HRC said that Prince Naif had encouraged HRC officials to continue to visit prisons and correction centers in the Kingdom and to cooperate with other national and international human rights bodies.
“HRC officials told the interior minister in all frankness about the obstacles they face in the Kingdom in implementing their programs and mission,” the HRC statement said, adding that the prince had encouraged them to invite more foreign human rights bodies to the Kingdom.
The HRC stated that the interior minister said there was “no excuse” for government departments being late in responding to HRC officials after official inquires are sent out to them.
The HRC mentioned that officials would be meeting the interior minister every couple of months to brief him on the organization’s achievements and the obstacles it faces in carrying out its mission.
