Saudi Arabia: Royal pardoning of foreigners accused of Riyadh's explosions

Saudi Arabia's authorities yesterday released five Britons and one Canadian who were jailed following the wave of explosions in the kingdom that targeted foreigners on the background of deals for selling alcohol in 2000 and the beginning of 2001.

The British foreign office secretary Jack Straw expressed happiness for the return back of the five British back home, noting that releasing them was a result of "a serious action by the ministers and officials who worked relentlessly to achieve this result."

Lawyer Salah al-Hujeilan who is in charge of defending the 6 persons said they left the prison according to a royal pardoning and they had left Saudi Arabia to Britain yesterday. Two of the British were sentenced to death but the Saudi King did not ratify the two sentences which were issued in October 2001 in the question of blowing up a car in which a British man was killed and four other persons were wounded on November 17, 2000. Others were sentenced to long imprisonment.

At that time, the Saudi authorities announced that the explosions took place at the background of revenge actions between the banned alcohol smuggling gangs in the Kingdom. In February the two British convicted man Alexander Sandy and the Canadian William Sampson were shown on the Saudi TV admitting the implementation of Riyadh's explosions. Later they withdrew their confessions. Their friends and relatives said they were tortured.