DAMMAM — The Saudi Embassy in Sweden has denied rumors on social networking sites about the imminent return to the Kingdom of a Saudi girl who allegedly converted to Christianity at the behest of a Lebanese resident in Al-Khobar. A lawyer representing the girl's family concurred with the embassy's views. Sources confirmed to Al-Yaum newspaper that the girl, known as “the Khobar girl” is currently in Sweden, where she arrived there from Beirut via Turkey after assuming a secret identity. Maryam, 28, was working in an insurance firm in Al-Khobar when she became interested in Christianity through the influence of her Christian boss, Lebanese expatriate Henna Sarkees. An unnamed male Saudi with links to the firm then secured false travel documents that allowed Maryam to leave the country for Lebanon through Bahrain, then for Sweden. The sources said immigration authorities in Sweden refused to divulge information about her whereabouts because her secret identity grants her “immunity.” A source told Al-Yaum that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with other official bodies, is contacting their counterparts in Sweden to determine her welfare. The Saudi Embassy in Stockholm is currently working hard to facilitate a meeting with the girl, and to seek her safe return to the Kingdom. The source said that ever since a letter was received from the girl's family, indicating that she was lured and illegally smuggled through many countries to Sweden, the Saudi Embassy immediately started investigating the matter. The case of the fleeing girl is currently in Al-Khobar court. Maryam's family has accused the Lebanese resident and his Saudi accomplice of coercing the girl into converting to Christianity and then helping her leave the country without the consent of her male guardian. They have suggested it may all be part of a conspiracy to get their daughter into the hands of international people-traffickers. The Lebanese resident is accused of convincing Maryam to renounce her religion by taking advantage of her circumstances. — SG
