Mishal Al-Otaibi Saudi Gazette RIYADH – A new committee on Saudi prisoners abroad will be formed to help the prisoners communicate with their families in the Kingdom, said Abdul Rahman Al-Jurais, a lawyer, at a recent meeting. To fulfill the desires of prisoners' families, the committee will also try to arrange for Saudi prisoners abroad to spend their remaining prison terms behind bars in the Kingdom, he said. There are 62 Saudi prisoners serving jail sentences in Iraq, and 90 percent of them have been sentenced in terrorism cases, Dr. Maad Al-Obaidi, deputy Iraqi ambassador, was quoted as saying in an earlier statement. He also said that the Iraqi Embassy in the Kingdom sent a request two months ago to pertinent Iraqi authorities to allow him to see the Saudi prisoners in Iraq, whom he has not seen for five years. “The request has not been approved yet,” he said. There are 111 Iraqi prisoners in the Kingdom, he added. Dr. Al-Obaidi said that the Iraqi parliament must endorse the extradition treaty signed between the Kingdom and Iraq to make it effective. But the members of parliament are still discussing the issue, he said. One of the members, who came for Haj this year, told Dr. Al-Obaidi that there is a misunderstanding on this issue and on the pardon draft law announced recently by the Iraqi government. This is why the extradition treaty has not been approved yet. The Saudi ambassador to Jordan has sent an official letter to the Iraqi authorities requesting a visit to Saudi prisoners in Iraq, Dr. Al-Obaidi said. Meanwhile, Prince Bandar Bin Faisal, deputy director of international affairs at the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA), has said that the Iraqi authorities refused a request by SRCA and the International Committee of the Red Cross to arrange a meeting in 2009 for some families to see their relatives serving prison terms in Iraq. “The SRCA has always worked to reunite families with prisoners and to help prisoners communicate with their families through phone and mail,” Prince Bandar said. He said there are 29 Saudi prisoners in Sousa Prison but only 18 requests for visitation have been approved. Saudi prisoners in Iraq have two requests: First, they want to know what progress has been made regarding their cases; second, they do not want to be transferred from Sousa Prison. Ten out of 300 Saudi prisoners have been handed down sentences for their suspicious involvement in terrorist acts. Sheikh Humood Al-Twaijiri has a son in Sousa Prison. He says: “We want to see our sons in Iraqi prisons and I'm sure there are Iraqi parents who want to see their sons in Saudi prisons.” Thamer Al-Belaihid, who is responsible for the file of Saudi prisoners in Iraq and who also served a prison sentence, said Saudi prisoners cannot communicate directly with the Saudi Embassy in Jordan. He added that their file should be dealt with from a humanitarian perspective, noting that the majority of Saudi prisoners were serving prison sentences ranging between 10-20 years.
