RIYADH – Saudi national Abdul Rahman Muhammad Al-Attawi, who spent seven years in an Israeli prison, returned to the Kingdom from the US Thursday night, his lawyer Katib Al-Shammari announced, Friday. He was received at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh by his family members. Al-Attawi was deported to the US with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, in cooperation with US authorities, who provided him with legal and humanitarian assistance. Al-Shammari said Al-Attawi was happy to return to his country and looked forward to living a decent life with his family. He expressed thanks and appreciation to all the officials who contributed to facilitating his return. Al-Attawi's daughter Raheel wrote a letter to Al-Jazirah newspaper several years ago thanking King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for his concern for her father's case and appealing to him to enable his return. Al-Attawi lost his way in a boat while fishing in Egyptian-Israeli international waters. He was arrested by Israel and faced several kinds of torture. He went on a hunger strike for a long time until an Israeli newspaper reported his detention. Al-Attawi, who hails from the northwestern region of Tabuk, was held in Israel's Ramleh prison. He was transferred to the prison's hospital after his health condition deteriorated and he was force-fed by Israeli prison officials to keep him alive. – SG
