GDN:’Free detainees’ rally at causeway

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‘Free detainees’ rally at causeway
By rasha al qahtani
Published: 7th December 2008

ACTIVISTS are planning to protest at the King Fahad Causeway today demanding the release of four Bahrainis arrested by Saudi police.

The men are understood to have been detained for allegedly having terrorist links, but campaigners here claim they are innocent.

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‘Free detainees’ rally at causeway
By rasha al qahtani
Published: 7th December 2008

ACTIVISTS are planning to protest at the King Fahad Causeway today demanding the release of four Bahrainis arrested by Saudi police.

The men are understood to have been detained for allegedly having terrorist links, but campaigners here claim they are innocent.

They include former Guantanamo Bay detainee Abdulla Majid Al Nuaimi and Hassan Yabis, who were arrested on the causeway in October and August respectively.

The group is also demanding the release of Khalil Janahi, who was arrested in Riyadh in April last year, and Abdulraheem Al Murbati, who was arrested on similar charges in June 2003.

Mr Al Murbati’s brother Isa was also one of the six Bahrainis to be held at Guantanamo Bay, but was released in August last year.

Today’s protest is being spearheaded by The National Justice Movement, also known as Al Adala, which says it still does not know the location of Mr Janahi after he was allegedly handed over to UAE authorities last month.

The group is now planning to send a representative to the UAE later this week to investigate his whereabouts.

It is thought the four men were included on a list of nearly 1,000 Al Qaeda suspects accused of carrying out “acts of war” against Saudi Arabia.

However, the Saudi authorities have remained tight-lipped on the reasons for their arrests.

Government officials and human rights activists both in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been contacted to highlight the men’s cases.

“We haven’t heard if our government made any move in demanding the Saudi authorities to release the detainees and they (Saudi Arabia) in turn have not given any details,” said the head of Al Adala’s Freedom Committee, Mohammed Janahi.

“We are holding this demonstration to demand the immediate release of the detainees in Saudi.

“With regard to Mr Janahi, our group’s secretary general Abdulla Hashim will go to the UAE on Thursday.”

Mr Hashim is hoping to meet officials from the UAE Interior Ministry to find out if Mr Janahi is in their custody.

“The situation is very strange because there has been no confirmation or denial about the whereabouts of Mr Janahi,” he added.

Mr Janahi’s sister – who asked to be identified as Umm Ebrahim – says she has contacted both the Bahraini and UAE embassies in Saudi Arabia, but was told officials knew nothing about her brother’s whereabouts.

She is still waiting for UAE Embassy officials in Saudi to get back to her after looking into her brother’s case.

Today’s three-hour demonstration is due to start at 3pm.

rasha@gdn.com.bh

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