RIYADH, 16 December 2007 — Police in Riyadh recently arrested two burglars for the alleged rape of a foreign woman. The two men are accused of breaking into the woman’s home, stealing valuables and threatening to kill the woman’s 10-year-old daughter if she refused to have sex with them.
The woman told officers at Al-Deera Police Department that on returning home from work she found two men, aged in their 20s, threatening to slit her daughter’s throat if she did not comply with their sexual demands.
She said that the two suspects took turns in raping her and stole gold necklaces, money and a mobile phone before fleeing. The woman provided officers with descriptions of her attackers and said that one of the men had his face partially covered.
Having gathered information about one of the men, a special investigation unit from Al-Deera Police Station identified a suspect and arrested him.
The woman was able to recognize the man’s voice and recognized parts of his face, which was partially covered when she was attacked. The man then provided police with details of his accomplice, who was also arrested and identified by the woman.
The case has now been transferred to the General Investigation and Prosecution Authority (GIPA) for further investigations and will be brought to court.
Meanwhile, Riyadh police arrested four men, of different African nationalities, who kidnapped three illegal residents and demanded a ransom for their release.
Al-Manfooha Police Department said that a relative of one of the abducted men reported that the men had been kidnapped. He also told police that the abductors threatened to rape the hostages if they did not pay the ransom. Police were able to locate the place where the men were being held. They were then freed. The kidnappers were arrested.
The four African abductors told police that they had illegally smuggled the men into the capital for a fee, which the men failed to pay. They then abducted them in an effort to retrieve their money. All the seven men are under arrest. The case has been transferred to the GIPA for further investigations.
