RIYADH, 26 November 2007 — The wife of an Indian taxi driver, who has been handed a 10-year jail sentence by a Saudi court for driving a drug trafficker in his car from airport, is seeking clemency for her husband.
According to Fathima Saboora, her husband, Shareef Kunnath, 33, is paying the price for briefly knowing drug trafficker Aboobacker Anfal and driving him in his taxi from the airport.
“The main culprit in the case, Aboobacker Anfal, was executed in Riyadh after being convicted of heroin smuggling,” said Kunhi Mohammed, a relative of Shareef.
“A group of relatives and friends of Shareef submitted yesterday a petition to Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman seeking his release,” he added.
Fathima, in a statement from India, said she feels “helpless and despondent” and cannot believe that her husband had been arrested, as he has never been involved in a crime in India or in Saudi Arabia.
“She fails to stop her tears since she learned that her husband is in prison and that he has been sentenced to 10 years in jail,” said Mohammed.
A family friend who works in Riyadh said that Fathima, struggling to support her five-year-old daughter and in-laws, has started working as a maid in India. Her mother-in-law has become insane and sick after hearing the news about her son.
Shareef, who also worked as a tea boy, rented his taxi to Aboobacker when he arrived at a local airport. A third man called Basheer, who is currently missing without any trace, originally hired Shareef’s taxi.
Fathima claims that her husband, who is currently in Hair prison, is not guilty. She said that an application seeking intervention from the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already been sent to the relevant authorities.
Last year, local police arrested 272 people in 178 drug-related offenses and more than 319 people were subjected to tests.
