Police in Saudi Arabia have rounded up more Britons in secret raids, saying they are linked to a bombing campaign by rival manufacturers of bootleg alcohol, reported the Times newspaper Thursday.
British workers in Riyadh say that five men were seized last month. Diplomats told the paper that they had been told about only two more arrests. Eight Britons are now being held by Saudi police in connection with the investigation.
A British official in Riyadh said “we are asking to see the two men we know about, whose families have asked us not to release their identities. They were taken two weeks ago and we have yet to gain consular access.”
All the expatriates are being kept in solitary confinement, said the paper. Some have been held for more than four months. They will shortly be joined by another Briton, Gary O’Nions, who the Saudi authorities have accused of organizing the bomb attacks, which killed one Briton and maimed another.
Mr O’Nions, a businessman, who had his 56th birthday yesterday in the Interpol prison in Abu Dhabi, denied any involvement in the bombings but admits to owning the first commercial bar in Riyadh, said the paper.
His wife, Mary, has condemned the British foreign ministry for not doing more to prevent her husband’s extradition to Saudi Arabia. O’Neis was sent to Riyadh Wednesday night. British officials insisted that they were powerless to stop the extradition.
Three of those held admitted carrying out bomb attacks in televised confessions which their families say were forced – Albawaba.com
