Bleihed wants to come home from Iraq Saudi Gazette report RIYADH – A dialogue session which ran parallel to the Saudi TV confessions of four former militant supporters on Wednesday focused on the experience of Thamer Al-Bleihed, one of the Saudis detained in Iraqi prisons. According to the father of Al-Bleihed, his son underwent a total transformation in just 15 days. “My son was extremely sociable before joining a group he claimed to be praying with at a mosque outside our neighborhood in the governorate of Hafr Al-Batin”, he said. According to the father, the early signs of his son's intention to go to Iraq became apparent in the middle of the month of Ramadan five years ago. “He said that he is unable to perform prayers with us. Later on, someone in Saudi Arabia who introduced himself as a well-meaning person told us that our son has the intention of going to Iraq”, he said. Days after arriving in Iraq, Thamer called his family and told them of his intention to return to Saudi Arabia as all calls for Jihad in Iraq, as he described them, were a hoax. “Thamer told me that Saudis are sold there. My son said that he was sold for $250.” He noted that his son was serious about returning to Saudi Arabia, the proof being that he had set a day for turning himself over to the border authorities. However, all contact was cut off between Thamer and his family until they heard that he had been arrested by Iraqi authorities. __
