Ahmad was taken into custody after being stopped for speeding while traveling from Abha to Riyadh. His name was put into a police database and came up as wanted for absconding from prison after being jailed for failing to clear bank loans. He spent over 12 hours in police custody and was only released after his father produced documents showing that he was not the man wanted by police. The documents produced by Ahmad’s father showed that the name of Ahmad’s mother is different from that of the absconder, according to Al-Riyadh newspaper.
There have been several incidents in which similar names have led to confusion. Such occurrences often take place at airports where people are detained because their names are similar to those of wanted terror suspects or criminals.
Such mistaken identities also often leave those affected in much mental anguish. Many of these people often end up having to pay for lawyers to prove their innocence, something that places an additional burden on them.
Othman Al-Omairaini, a Saudi citizen, described the difficulties faced by one of his friends, a civil servant. “One day he was surprised to see that his bank account had been frozen. When he contacted his bank, he learned that he had been mistaken for somebody else. His ID number had been mistakenly put into the file of another man who was associated with a company whose bank accounts had been frozen,” he said. “The two men have similar names. My friend has been visiting government offices and the bank to resolve the matter since last Ramadan, but his account is still frozen,” he added.
Student Ahmad Hamdan said that although he was an outstanding language student, he failed his first year exams after his marks were awarded to another student with a similar name. “It was a shock for me to see that I had failed in four subjects in my first year examinations. I challenged the result and applied for a revaluation. It was then that I found that my marks had been given to another student with the same name,” he said, adding that he had been targeted by an unscrupulous invigilator.
Professor Ahmad bin Ibrahim Al-Mohaimeed, a legal consultant and a member of the Family Security Program, said the fact that many people in the Kingdom have similar names leads to many problems. “Some people find themselves harassed at airports, security checkpoints and even in public places. Some of these people have been prevented from traveling and taken into police custody,” he said, adding that the newly introduced fingerprinting system will help minimize such occurrences.
Al-Mohaimeed underscored the need to formulate a mechanism to make public the complete details of wanted terror suspects and criminals to bring an end to the harassment of innocent people who have names similar to people wanted by the authorities. He added that according to Saudi law, people who are wrongly harassed can seek compensation.
Lawyer Hadi Al-Yami said individuals who share names with wanted people risk being penalized for crimes until they can prove their innocence. He further called for compensation to be given to such people. “But in most cases, such victims only receive some words of excuse and apologies,” he said, noting that none of these victims approach the authorities to seek compensation. Hadi Al-Yami said that such people are entitled to compensation and should come forward and file complaints.
