A “mentally ill” man whose family had locked him up in chains in a dark room for three years at a house in the Al-Harra Al-Sharqiya area of Madina was freed on Wednesday on the direct orders of Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Majed, the regional Emir. Omar Al-Baghdadi was immediately taken to a local hospital for the mentally ill for a medical checkup and to assess his mental stability. Okaz newspaper first made Al-Baghdadi's plight public last week, and a dispute subsequently arose over which authority was responsible for ensuring he received care. Social Affairs in the region blamed the Health Directorate after Madina's Mental Health Hospital said a “bed shortage” was the reason for him being left to the whims of his family, while intervention from Social Affairs itself was said to depend on individuals “posing a threat to themselves and others”. On the orders of Prince Abdul Aziz, officials in three vehicles arrived at the site of the room on Wednesday and used cutters to break locks and gain access. On viewing the interior, the head of the medical team Dr. Ahmad Hafidh described conditions as “unconscionable”. “It was a dark, abandoned room. This is an example of family violence unacceptable to Allah and His Prophet,” he said. Al-Baghdadi was said to be completely naked when officials entered, and had to be coaxed out of the room's toilet where he was hiding. He was given clothes by medics who then accompanied him to Madina's Mental Health Hospital. Dr. Hafidh noted that the hospital was suffering from a bed shortage, and was obliged to discharge a long-term patient deemed fit enough to return to society in order to make room for Al-Baghdadi. Al-Baghdadi's family – who first contacted Okaz newspaper to help bring the situation to the attention of the authorities - reiterated their claims that they “were forced to lock him up” because no authority would take him in, and that he had been dismissed from the Mental Health Hospital “numerous times”. Social Affairs regional director Hatim Bin Amin Bari said Wednesday that social workers and officials would meet with Al-Baghdadi's family to assess their “financial and social condition”. Officials have expressed concern for Al-Baghdadi's effect on others in his family, notably his eldest daughter who is said to have shown signs of mental instability. The Ministry of Social Affairs said earlier in the week that plans were advancing to build a social protection home in Madina.
