RIYADH, 15 April 2004 — Saudi Arabia has freed the father of a Canadian man accused of allegedly working with a terrorist group in Ottawa and London.
Gregory Cooney, political consular at the Canadian Embassy here, confirmed the news of the release.
He said Mahboob Khawaja, a faculty member at an institution in Yanbu, was released on Tuesday after being detained for two weeks for questioning by Saudi authorities.
Cooney said, however, that Mahboob’s son, Muhammad Momin Khawaja, currently in detention in Ottawa, will be the first Canadian to be tried under the new draconian Canadian anti-terrorism law.
Muhammad, a computer professional, was arrested on March 29 during anti-terror raids in Ottawa. He has been charged with aiding a terror group and facilitating terrorist activity in London and Ottawa between Nov. 10 and March 29.
In a statement, the Canadian Foreign Ministry said Mahboob Khawaja, 62, a Pakistani-born Canadian national working in Saudi Arabia was detained at the end of March shortly after his son’s arrest in Ottawa.
“Khawaja contacted the Canadian Embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday and told the Canadian officials that he was no longer being held by Saudi authorities and had been treated well.”
Arab News was unable to contact either the elder Khawaja in Yanbu, or his family members.
Speaking about his detention, the elder Khawaja told the CTV Canada AM Wednesday, that he “was detained at the request of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).”
