عمران
07-01-2001, 12:33 PM
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Top News Headlines Sunday, January 7, 192001 -- 9:58 am
Eleven Foreigners Still
Under Arrest In Saudi Arabia
LOS ANGELES, CA (Compass) -- Saudi Arabian authorities continued to refuse consular access this week to 11 expatriate Christians arrested during June in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. At least 20 foreign nationals known to be practicing Christians, including a nine-month pregnant woman, have been subjected to police interrogations since the arrests began June 5.
According to eyewitnesses of the arrests conducted mostly by Saudi "muttawa" (religious police), the detained Christians were suspected of either distributing Christian materials or attending private meetings for Christian worship. Under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic law, observance of any religious worship other than Islam is illegal.
The arrested Christians include 10 Filipinos and one Dutch citizen, none of whom have been allowed to speak with their embassy representatives since their arrests. All are believed to be held at Ministry of Interior detention facilities, where prisoners are routinely subjected to rounds of interrogation before being either released or sent to prison on formal charges.
The Filipino prisoners were identified by fellow Christians who witnessed their arrests in Riyadh as: Ariel Ordona, Angelito Hizon, Ruben Aguirre, Gali Afurong, Pete Prado, Jaime Liscano, John Leyson, Renato Ferrer, Guadencio Lorenzo, and Ruel Rodriguez.
Consul General Jesus N. Maravilla confirmed from Riyadh that the Philippines Embassy had a list of nine Filipino Christians believed to be under arrest as of July 1. He said he had not yet confirmed one additional name of a Lockheed employee just reported.
"We have been asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for consular access," Maravilla said in a telephone interview, "but we have not been able to meet them yet. We do not know the charges against them or anything. We do not have even a little information. It is just a merry-go-round."
"Our government is not always very helpful," admitted a Filipino Christian who has worked in Saudi Arabia since 1981. "Most of the staff in our embassy there are Filipino Muslims, and they just shrug their shoulders." Requesting anonymity, the source said that he had personally witnessed the arrests of Christian worshippers by Saudi "muttawa" twice since he came to personal faith in Christ 11 years ago.
Dutch businessman Wim den Hertog, 35, was arrested by seven "muttawa" officers on June 13 at his home, where his wife Rachel was reportedly assured that he would be returned "within an hour." It was 17 days before she was to hear directly from him again.
Saudi authorities refused to explain his prolonged detention, although after repeated Dutch government inquiries led by Foreign Minister van Mierlo, they eventually confirmed that den Hertog was being held by the Ministry of Interior.
Den Hertog was finally allowed a short telephone call to his wife on June 30, under the condition that they would only speak in English. The businessman's wife and three children flew back to Holland today without incident, his brother confirmed from Holland.
According to Bridget Tazelaar, a spokesperson for the Dutch Foreign Ministry in the Hague, the government of the Netherlands still has not been officially informed of the charges against den Hertog, nor allowed to visit him. "We are doing our utmost to gain access to him," Tazelaar said yesterday.
So far only one Filipino prisoner, Gali Afurong, has been allowed a visit from a family member, who reported that Afurong showed "no visible signs of torture."
Compass has confirmed the detention, interrogation and subsequent release of another eight Filipinos and one British citizen in the sweep of arrests. Reportedly the passports of two of these individuals were confiscated by Saudi authorities.
In a telephone interview from Manila today, Filipino computer programmer Rufino Aguilar confirmed that his pregnant wife Yolanda, 31, had been subjected to severe harassment and interrogations by Saudi authorities about his Christian friends and activities since he fled Saudi Arabia on June 11 to avoid arrest.
Aguilar said his wife was picked up at the hospital where she worked on June 15 and underwent "hours of intense questioning" by the police over the next two days. During that time he said their home was "searched and ransacked" by Saudi authorities.
Two days later, she gave birth to an eight-pound daughter, Elisha. The new father said his wife's doctor induced labor, since the doctor feared for her life as well as the health of the baby after her "stressful ordeal." A medical report after the June 17 childbirth described the mother's survival chances as 50-50, Aguilar said.
Despite this, Aguilar said, his wife was again arrested after the baby's delivery and taken off the hospital compound. "They questioned her for several hours," he said, his voice breaking.
"She is still not stable," Aguilar said, "and she is so weak that she cannot breastfeed the baby." The new father said the baby was reportedly "very healthy" and doing well. Since the baby's arrival, Aguilar has spoken twice by telephone with his wife on the hospital compound where she is staying, although he said she could not speak freely because their conversation was "overheard."
Aguilar has appealed through the International Red Cross for intervention in the case, to enable his wife to return to the Philippines with the baby as soon as her health permits.
Compass was unable to confirm reports that an additional 15 Filipino Christians were arrested and taken in for questioning in Riyadh on June 26.
In Washington, D.C., a State Department press spokesperson confirmed to Compass that on June 27 U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Wyche Fowler, had discussed the ongoing arrests with the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Saud Al-Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Faud.
"The issue has been raised with several Saudi government officials, and it will be taken up again soon at a relatively high level," the spokesperson said.
A spokesman of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, D.C., also confirmed today that the embassy had received numerous inquiries about these incidents in the past few days. However, he said their office had received no information or confirmations from the Riyadh government regarding these alleged arrests.
"It is not illegal to be a Christian in Saudi Arabia," he stressed, "although it is illegal to act as a missionary or try to convert people." The embassy spokesman claimed that although Saudi law prohibited public meetings or the building of churches for Christian worship, "Christians are allowed to worship in the privacy of their homes."
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عمران//أحمد
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الألوان بتوجيه معاناة القلوب
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http://www.mcjonline.com/news/98/masthd2.gif
Top News Headlines Sunday, January 7, 192001 -- 9:58 am
Eleven Foreigners Still
Under Arrest In Saudi Arabia
LOS ANGELES, CA (Compass) -- Saudi Arabian authorities continued to refuse consular access this week to 11 expatriate Christians arrested during June in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. At least 20 foreign nationals known to be practicing Christians, including a nine-month pregnant woman, have been subjected to police interrogations since the arrests began June 5.
According to eyewitnesses of the arrests conducted mostly by Saudi "muttawa" (religious police), the detained Christians were suspected of either distributing Christian materials or attending private meetings for Christian worship. Under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic law, observance of any religious worship other than Islam is illegal.
The arrested Christians include 10 Filipinos and one Dutch citizen, none of whom have been allowed to speak with their embassy representatives since their arrests. All are believed to be held at Ministry of Interior detention facilities, where prisoners are routinely subjected to rounds of interrogation before being either released or sent to prison on formal charges.
The Filipino prisoners were identified by fellow Christians who witnessed their arrests in Riyadh as: Ariel Ordona, Angelito Hizon, Ruben Aguirre, Gali Afurong, Pete Prado, Jaime Liscano, John Leyson, Renato Ferrer, Guadencio Lorenzo, and Ruel Rodriguez.
Consul General Jesus N. Maravilla confirmed from Riyadh that the Philippines Embassy had a list of nine Filipino Christians believed to be under arrest as of July 1. He said he had not yet confirmed one additional name of a Lockheed employee just reported.
"We have been asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for consular access," Maravilla said in a telephone interview, "but we have not been able to meet them yet. We do not know the charges against them or anything. We do not have even a little information. It is just a merry-go-round."
"Our government is not always very helpful," admitted a Filipino Christian who has worked in Saudi Arabia since 1981. "Most of the staff in our embassy there are Filipino Muslims, and they just shrug their shoulders." Requesting anonymity, the source said that he had personally witnessed the arrests of Christian worshippers by Saudi "muttawa" twice since he came to personal faith in Christ 11 years ago.
Dutch businessman Wim den Hertog, 35, was arrested by seven "muttawa" officers on June 13 at his home, where his wife Rachel was reportedly assured that he would be returned "within an hour." It was 17 days before she was to hear directly from him again.
Saudi authorities refused to explain his prolonged detention, although after repeated Dutch government inquiries led by Foreign Minister van Mierlo, they eventually confirmed that den Hertog was being held by the Ministry of Interior.
Den Hertog was finally allowed a short telephone call to his wife on June 30, under the condition that they would only speak in English. The businessman's wife and three children flew back to Holland today without incident, his brother confirmed from Holland.
According to Bridget Tazelaar, a spokesperson for the Dutch Foreign Ministry in the Hague, the government of the Netherlands still has not been officially informed of the charges against den Hertog, nor allowed to visit him. "We are doing our utmost to gain access to him," Tazelaar said yesterday.
So far only one Filipino prisoner, Gali Afurong, has been allowed a visit from a family member, who reported that Afurong showed "no visible signs of torture."
Compass has confirmed the detention, interrogation and subsequent release of another eight Filipinos and one British citizen in the sweep of arrests. Reportedly the passports of two of these individuals were confiscated by Saudi authorities.
In a telephone interview from Manila today, Filipino computer programmer Rufino Aguilar confirmed that his pregnant wife Yolanda, 31, had been subjected to severe harassment and interrogations by Saudi authorities about his Christian friends and activities since he fled Saudi Arabia on June 11 to avoid arrest.
Aguilar said his wife was picked up at the hospital where she worked on June 15 and underwent "hours of intense questioning" by the police over the next two days. During that time he said their home was "searched and ransacked" by Saudi authorities.
Two days later, she gave birth to an eight-pound daughter, Elisha. The new father said his wife's doctor induced labor, since the doctor feared for her life as well as the health of the baby after her "stressful ordeal." A medical report after the June 17 childbirth described the mother's survival chances as 50-50, Aguilar said.
Despite this, Aguilar said, his wife was again arrested after the baby's delivery and taken off the hospital compound. "They questioned her for several hours," he said, his voice breaking.
"She is still not stable," Aguilar said, "and she is so weak that she cannot breastfeed the baby." The new father said the baby was reportedly "very healthy" and doing well. Since the baby's arrival, Aguilar has spoken twice by telephone with his wife on the hospital compound where she is staying, although he said she could not speak freely because their conversation was "overheard."
Aguilar has appealed through the International Red Cross for intervention in the case, to enable his wife to return to the Philippines with the baby as soon as her health permits.
Compass was unable to confirm reports that an additional 15 Filipino Christians were arrested and taken in for questioning in Riyadh on June 26.
In Washington, D.C., a State Department press spokesperson confirmed to Compass that on June 27 U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Wyche Fowler, had discussed the ongoing arrests with the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Saud Al-Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Faud.
"The issue has been raised with several Saudi government officials, and it will be taken up again soon at a relatively high level," the spokesperson said.
A spokesman of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, D.C., also confirmed today that the embassy had received numerous inquiries about these incidents in the past few days. However, he said their office had received no information or confirmations from the Riyadh government regarding these alleged arrests.
"It is not illegal to be a Christian in Saudi Arabia," he stressed, "although it is illegal to act as a missionary or try to convert people." The embassy spokesman claimed that although Saudi law prohibited public meetings or the building of churches for Christian worship, "Christians are allowed to worship in the privacy of their homes."
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عمران//أحمد
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الألوان بتوجيه معاناة القلوب