DAMMAM — A total of 3,584 inmates and detainees, consisting of 3,052 Saudis and 532 foreigners, are currently being detained in intelligence prisons, Al-Hayat Arabic daily reported on Monday quoting figures provided by the Ministry of Interior.
Some of the incarcerated people have already been sentenced to death, while others have either been given varying jail sentences or their cases are still pending before the Kingdom's courts or they remain under interrogation. A fourth group of the detainees is being investigated by the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) after which their cases will be sent to relevant courts.
The detainees include 12 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizens who represent about two percent of non-Saudi inmates and three Americans of whom one was arrested last week and is still under investigation. One of the three Americans was arrested about a month ago and the other has already been sentenced but has appealed and is waiting for the Court of Appeals' decision.
Of the 12 GCC detainees, seven are from Bahrain, two from Qatar and one each from Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Four of the seven Bahraini detainees are still under investigation. One was arrested a few weeks ago while the three others were caught in August 2014.
The case against the fifth Bahraini is currently being considered by the Summary Court while the sixth is under interrogation by the BIP and the seventh is waiting for a final ruling on his appeal from the Court of Appeals.
One of the two Qatari detainees was caught mid last year while the second, who was arrested recently, is still on trial before the court. The Omani national has been kept under detention for about six years.
The list of the 19 most wanted criminals issued by the Interior Ministry a few years ago included two Kuwaitis. One of them was Abdul Rahman Al-Abousi, No. 11 on the list, who was killed in a confrontation with Saudi security forces and the other, Mohsen Al-Fidaili, was killed in Syria in a coalition air strike.
The ministry has established the online Nafithat Tawasul (communication window) electronic portal so the families and friends of detainees can stay in contact with them.
