Eight Bahrainis Detained In Saudi To Be Released Soon

Manama, Bahrain (AHN) - Eight Bahrainis detained in Saudi Arabia on charges of being linked with Hezbollah are expected to be released by the end of the month. Human rights activist Faisal Fulad told AHN from Riyadh that the eight men would be soon released as Saudi authorities have completed their investigation. "The Saudi Human Rights Commission has informed me that the Bahrainis will be released by this month end," he claimed.

The seven teachers and an engineer left for Riyadh from Bahrain on Feb. 29. The director of the consular department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, Yousif Ahmad, was quoted by the Bahrain News Agency saying the teachers were arrested by security authorities because they entered a restricted area on March 4. According to their families here, the men were carrying a laptop, Global Positioning System and maps during their trip.

Fulad said they would be negotiating with Saudi authorities to allow lawyers and doctors to meet the Bahrainis, who have been detained for more than 100 days. One family member, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AHN that the detainees were mentally tortured and kept in solitary confinement in a 2-meter by 3-meter cell.

Local Arabic daily Al Wasat started an online petition on Thursday demanding the release of the Bahrainis. Appeals were sent through a local human rights group and relatives of the eight families to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdulla bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, on April 30 asking for a royal gesture. Saudi authorities have not announced any official charges against the eight men, but according to their families here the authorities are linking them with Hezbollah. The minister of foreign affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, said in an interview that the Saudi interior minister, Prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz, denied accusations posted on a website that the eight were Iranian spies.

Shaikh Khalid urged Saudi authorities to charge the men if there was evidence of their guilt or unconditionally release them.

The minister of state for foreign affairs, Dr. Nizar Al Baharna, told AHN that they were arranging a second trip for the family members on Friday, in which the families would be allowed to meet the men at Al Hair prison in Riyadh.

The eight teachers are: Majid Abdalrasool Salman Al-Ghasra, Abbas Ahmed Ibrahim, Sayed Ahmed Alawi Abdullah, Issa A.Hasan Ahmed, Mohammed Hassan Ali Marhoon, Mohammad Abdullah Al-Moamen, Ebrahim Marzam and Mohamed Mahdi.

The Supreme Islamic Council recently took the case to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who assured that he would work to resolve the crisis. The families are also looking forward to a meeting on Friday between King Hamad and the deputy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.