JEDDAH, 2 June 2004 — Haider Ali Al-Mazrae, 42, a Saudi from Qateef in the Eastern Province, has been released from Abu Ghraib prison after nearly nine months, Okaz reported yesterday.
The paper did not say whether the man had been tortured. A father of three girls, he was working as a bus driver in Qateef.
Mazrae called his family in Qateef on Friday to inform them of the good news. He was among 500 prisoners set free recently and was expected to arrive in the Kingdom via Kuwait.
Hussein Al-Jeshi, a relative, told the Arabic daily that Mazrae had experienced a number of problems after his release. He was not allowed to pass through the Arar border post on Saturday as the papers which the occupation forces had given him were in English and the officers at the border post did not read the language.
US authorities had confiscated his passport after his arrest in September last year, Jeshi said, adding that Mazrae had gone to Iraq on a “normal” visit. The authorities gave him his driving license as proof of his identity.
After leaving Arar, Mazrae returned to Karbala. He arrived in Basra on Sunday after an eight-hour journey during which he went through several security checks.
Mazrae said there was another Saudi prisoner in Abu Ghraib, Khaled Abdul Mohsen Al-Qaisoom, 35, who he hoped would also soon be released.
Qaisoom, also from Qateef, went to Iraq 10 months ago after a short visit to Syria.
