Scottish national Sandy Mitchell may sue the Saudi government for allegedly torturing him during his detainment in the Kingdom. Mitchell, along with four other Britons and one Canadian, was released from prison in the Kingdom on August 8, 2003 after being granted clemency by Saudi authorities.
Mitchell, who claims to be innocent, is considering legal action against the Saudi government for being tortured into confessing involvement in a terrorist bombing that took place in Riyadh in 2000, reported the Scotsman. The attack killed one Briton and injured several other Western expatriate workers.
The men were released only after signing a letter of apology to King Fahd. According to Telegraph, the Saudi authorities were reportedly anxious to get confirmation that the released foreigners would not sue for torture or false accusations once they returned home.
In a similar case, two US citizens are moving forward with a lawsuit against the Libyan government, claiming that the authorities tortured them during a four month prison sentence they completed in the Arab state in 1980. Both men are demanding $20 million each in compensation.
Employed by a Libyan firm, the claimants were arrested and charged with ‘anti-revolutionary propaganda’ for taking pictures in the Tripoli region. Incarcerated for 105 days, the two men allege that they were forced to watch as other inmates were beaten, then threatened with the same treatment unless they confessed to being undercover agents. After their trial and subsequent acquittal, they were given permission to leave Libya. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
