Amnesty asks Saudis to clarify terror-funding arrests
Source: Reuters
RIYADH, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Rights group Amnesty International asked Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to clarify reasons for detaining 10 men, whom it said could face torture, amid conflicting reports on whether they were reformers or "terror financers." The Saudi Interior Ministry on Friday arrested 9 Saudis and a foreign resident for collecting donations and giving them to "suspicious elements." It said the arrests were part of police operations against "funding terrorism." A lawyer representing seven of the detainees has said they were reformers discussing political reforms in the absolute monarchy, a key U.S. ally and the world's biggest oil exporter. "They are held incommunicado and are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment," Amnesty said in a statement. ~Amnesty International believes they may have been detained solely for their peaceful activities in defence of human rights." "Some of them had been detained before because of their work," it said, calling on authorities to say "why exactly they have been detained, and what if any charges they are facing." A source familiar with the case said three of the detainees had been involved in collecting money for people who were recruiting fighters in Iraq. Foreigners fighting alongside Iraq's Sunni insurgents are thought to have included many Saudis since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. Militants have also launched a violent campaign in Saudi Arabia. Lawyer Bassem Alem said at least one of the detainees has been involved in public humanitarian fundraising work for Iraqis through the Saudi Red Crescent Society. Alem said some of them also planned to send aid to Palestinians in Israel-occupied territories. A court jailed three reformers in 2005 for petitioning for a constitutional monarchy but King Abdullah pardoned them after he came to power the same year in what analysts said was a sign of policy differences within the ruling family. Violence in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Iraq have led to heightened security in Saudi Arabia.
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