RIYADH, 14 March 2008 — A high court judge in Riyadh was carjacked by a group of youths, the daily Al-Riyadh reported yesterday. Police later reported arresting the two young men that entered the judge’s vehicle as well as their accomplices.
“I prayed the Isha (night) prayer and while coming out from the mosque I noticed several youngsters sitting idle in front of the mosque,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Rumi. “It was quite clear that they did not participate in the prayer. So I approached them and advised them on the importance of prayers.”
The sheikh then said that when he was getting into his car one of the young men approached him and said he wanted to ask him a question about praying.
“I allowed one of them to sit beside me in the car,” said the judge, who sits on one of the country’s highest courts. “The other one sat in the back. In the next moment he took out a knife and told me to drive to a particular place. He said they did not want to harm me, but to hand over all the money and my mobile phone. I obeyed them without protesting.”
The judge handed over SR15,000 in cash, his mobile phone and some personal documents. Four other young men later entered the vehicle and Al-Rumi was then dropped off unharmed at a remote location outside the town.
Police arrested two young men who had initiated the crime and the judge positively identified them. Four other suspects were later arrested. All six young men are unemployed Saudis.
The sheikh said he attempted to talk them out of their misdeed. “I tried to give some advice hoping to correct them, but they told me to keep quiet and drive on until we reached a particular place and then they asked me to stop. Four masked youths joined us in the car. They asked me to get out and then they sped away in my car.”
