JEDDAH — Two customs officers testified on Wednesday that they found drugs on an Egyptian human rights lawyer who was arrested on trafficking charges at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah in April. In the third hearing since the trial of Ahmed Al-Jeezawi began in July, the two officers told the court they found Xanax tablets hidden among his belongings as he entered the Kingdom. “We found the tablets hidden among a pack of Qur'an copies and containers of baby formula,” one of the agents told the Jeddah General Court. His colleague gave similar evidence. The agents' testimony came after Al-Jeezawi's lawyers told a hearing earlier this month that the charges against their client were fabricated. The next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 10. Al-Jeezawi was arrested in April and accused of trying to smuggle 21,380 capsules of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, which is banned in Saudi Arabia. During the first hearing, the prosecution demanded the death penalty. Al-Jeezawi had traveled in April to Saudi Arabia with his wife to perform Umrah, the minor pilgrimage, when he was detained at the airport. — SG
