Aung San Lein, who converted to Islam from Buddhism and is now called Hussein Johar, says he has appealed to several government bodies in the Kingdom as well as to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, requesting an immediate search for his family.

“I am writing to your honor to express and highlight my serious concern over the kidnapping of my innocent family members and also over the gross oppression, torture, tyranny and severe maltreatment I have suffered from the Makkah department concerned,” he wrote in his appeal to the king.

As a result of his family's involvement in politics and social issues, as well as their conversion to Islam in 1995, Johar says that he, his wife, mother and sister fled Burma and settled in Makkah the following year.

He said that the family sought permanent protection from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as well as from Riyadh-based foreign missions and various international NGOs.

Since they immigrated to Makkah, Johar claims that these organizations had struggled to obtain an iqama and financial help on the family’s behalf.

The family iqama was finally issued in 2006 after immigration staff insisted the children’s names were changed to Muslim ones.

During their stay in Makkah, Johar claims his mother died without receiving medical treatment.

On the afternoon of Oct. 31, 2006, which Johar clearly remembers was a Tuesday, he returned from Jeddah to discover his family had disappeared, along with SR9,500 and a gold jewelry worth SR37,000. “I searched for them at a nearby market, as well as in clinics, supermarkets, a detention center for beggars, deportation centers, immigration buses and around the Grand Mosque, but I couldn’t find them anywhere,” he said.

He says they had been friends with a Burmese family of Bangladeshi descent and a Pakistani family. He contacted both families asking them if they knew anything about his wife and children’s disappearance but they said they knew nothing.

“I then checked both incoming and outgoing calls, which showed that there were phone calls between my wife and the Pakistani family just before she was taken,” Johar said.

Arab News has a copy of the phone records, which Johar insists is vital evidence proving his Pakistani friends were involved in the kidnapping.

Johar tried to contact the Pakistani family on several occasions for clues to his family’s whereabouts. The wife, Shehnaz, allegedly implied that she knew the kidnappers. According to her, they feared being followed if they returned his wife and children.

“I also asked whether my wife was forced into prostitution. Shehnaz assured me that wherever she is, she was absolutely safe from such a thing,” he added.

Johar claims he tried many times to report the disappearance to the police and the Pakistani Consulate’s welfare section by phone and letter because he thought the kidnappers, who he believes are from Pakistan, might seek consular assistance to take his abducted family out of the Kingdom.  He says that the Saudi Passport Department assured Johar that they had instructed their staff not only to fax his letter to the embassy but also to cordon off deportation centers.

By the end of 2006 however, Johar says he was arrested by Makkah police for no apparent reason.

“Everything I had in my pockets was seized — documents such as the conversion (to Islam) letter, residence permit, watch, copies of my photographs, my Nokia mobile and SR2,300. I was kept in a cell until they completed their paperwork without questioning me,” Johar said.

“I was accused of asking for financial assistance from Al-Baha Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ramadan 2006, which according to them is the only crime I committed.”

Some days after he was arrested, his fingerprints were taken and he used the opportunity to ask police to contact UNHCR.

“I told the police officer to contact the UNHCR directly in order to clear up any misunderstandings but he refused. Instead, he advised my sponsor on mobile to come personally or send his assistant to the police station,” he said.

Johar was taken to Briman prison in Jeddah so he could be deported later. However, he stayed in prison for over six months.

In 2007, Johar was taken to the airport in handcuffs, along with other Pakistani deportees convicted of drinking liquor. He was forced to leave behind his family and belongings despite not being proven of any charge in court. He was then deported to Pakistan even though he is not a Pakistani national.

“At this moment, my world had shattered and I suddenly broke down in tears throughout my journey as I simply could not bear this tragedy. I felt helpless as I had lost my beloved family and faced oppression from the police,” he said. At the end of his 13-page appeal, he claims that his family had either been kidnapped or his wife had run away with the children.

“If she left, this is not the way to do it. She should have left the kids with me and she does not have the right under Saudi law to leave with a non-related man against my will,” he told Arab News, adding that she has no relatives in Saudi Arabia.

Johar now lives in Turkey after he left Pakistan in 2008. He is jobless and supported financially by the local government. He is hoping Saudi authorities will help him in his quest to find his family.