Saudis detained by American forces in Iraq are expected to be handed over to authorities in the Kingdom soon. Efforts by the Ministry of Interior to advise detainees inside the Kingdom and those repatriated here from abroad, plus the Kingdom's success in rectifying the ideas of hundreds of Saudis, have led the Americans to respond positively to calls for the repatriation of Saudi nationals held by them in Iraq. Muflih Al-Qahtani, Acting Chairman of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), said that Saudi detainees held by the Americans in Iraq were in a better condition than their counterparts detained by the Iraqi government. He further said that security conditions in Iraq and difficulties in communicating with detainees impeded the work of the NSHR. Prince Muhammad Bin Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs, met on Oct. 26 of this year 14 guardians of Saudi detainees who submitted a letter expressing the hope that their sons' repatriation from Iraq would be carried out soon and calling for smugglers involved in assisting people reach areas of conflict to be punished. They also called for penalties for those who issued fatwas – religious edicts – which had a role in leading their sons, particularly the young among them, astray. One Saudi national repatriated from Iraq and identified as Abu Muhammad, appeared on a Saudi Channel One television program on Sep. 7 of this year, in which he explained the circumstances of his journey to Iraq. “I discovered after arriving in Iraq that I was nothing but a commodity being sold by professional gangs until I found myself before a middleman or so-called, ‘Emir of the Islamic State in Iraq', Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi,” Abu Mohammed said in an interview. “They gave me the choice of being a fighter in the Islamic state or a suicide bomber.” Detainees enter Iraqi territories illegally with the help of smugglers who facilitate the crossing of the border. New returnees from Iraq will be subjected to procedures being followed according to regulations in the Kingdom and will have sessions with the Advice Committees as has happened with other returnees. Al-Qahtani said the number of Saudis detained by American forces in Iraq is less than 100. It has not been confirmed whether they will be handed in one go or on an individual-case basis. – Okaz/SG __
