Qahtani, head of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), has said that it has received a number of reports from Saudi families that they have lost all contact with relatives in Syria. Some of the Saudis have been out of contact for up to three months. Al-Qahtani said the NSHR has contacted the Saudi embassy in Damascus to try and locate the individuals and that work has also been going on with Syrian authorities to determine the number of Saudi prisoners being held in Syria. Some are reportedly being held in civil and military prisons while the locations of other prisoners remain unknown. “The NSHR has been seeking to establish the whereabouts of Saudi prisoners since it received reports from relatives stating that they have lost contact with them and don't know if they are still there or if they have left Syria,” Al-Qahtani told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. “The problem currently before us is the difficulty in the Syrians' internal measures which makes contacting them difficult.” He said that some of the Saudis went to Syria for medical treatment and others for tourism. “We want to get in touch with them on behalf of their families,” he said. Al-Qahtani added that the NSHR is collaborating on the issue with the Society for the Protection of Saudis and that it continues to follow the situation of Saudi prisoners in Egypt and other countries.
