The New York Times published a report to its correspondent in Beirut, Ben Habaard, in which he talks about an American family with a double nationality stuck in Saudi Arabia, pending the father's trial on charges that the United States says it does not deserve attention.
The report, which was translated by "Arabi 21", indicates that Dr. Walid Al -Fattahi, who was released by the Saudi authorities five months ago, is still his and his family of seven individuals who are forbidden to leave the Kingdom until his trial on charges that American officials and a senior foreign official and the son of the doctor sees.It is flimsy.
Haberd notes that Al -Fattahi was arrested as part of the campaign that was known for fighting corruption in 2017, and he was released last summer to wait for his trial, noting that close associates of him were told that he was tortured during his detention period.
The newspaper, quoting the son of Doctor Ahmed Al -Fattahi, 27, residing in California, said that the authorities confiscated the family's passports, leaving eight members of the dual nationality holders stuck in the country, and he said on the phone: "My family has been deprived of its freedom.".
The report states that while US officials tried to confirm the rights of Dr. Al -Fattahi and his family, President Donald Trump has never spoken of his case, which led his son to ask about the secret of the White House ignoring his father, compared to his interest in the rest of the American detainees abroad.
The writer quotes Ahmed Al -Fattahi as saying: "President Trump has a great record in protecting Americans, so why did my father not save?"He pointed out that the White House did not comment directly on a request from the newspaper to comment.
The newspaper commented that President Trump considered the securing of the release of American detainees abroad "a priority", and he pledged in a tweet on "Twitter", saying: "We will not relax and we continue to work to bring the rest of the American hostages home.".
The report added that it does not seem that all cases are receiving the same attention, so Trump took advantage of the release of Americans who were arrested in Yemen, Turkey, Egypt and North Korea, and last month he celebrated the release of the American student Gio Wang, who was arrested by Iran in 2016, but he did not talk about the case of Mustafa Qassem, The American who died in his prison in Egypt six years after the arrest and a hunger strike, and he did not publicly criticize the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El -Sisi, who jokingly referred to as his "favorite dictatorship".
Haberd, quoting Human Rights Watch, says that citizens hold dual citizenship were arrested in Saudi Arabia alongside Dr. Al -Fattahi, namely Salah Haider, a prominent Saudi activist, the writer and doctor Badr Ibrahim, and the two men were arrested in April last year,He pointed out that Trump also did not talk about them, "in order to avoid tension with Saudi Arabia and its actual ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom Trump sees as a partner in the Middle East.".
The newspaper states that a spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington did not answer questions from "The New York Times" about Dr. Al -Fattahi's situation, noting that Saudi officials say that the Kingdom does not torture the detainees.
The report notes that Al -Fitaihi was born in Saudi Arabia, studied and trained a doctor at Harvard University, where he obtained American citizenship when he was staying and working in the Boston region, and returned to Saudi Arabia in 2006, where he opened a private hospital and became a lecturer in self -stimulation cases.
The writer states that he was arrested in November 2017 during a campaign of arrests for the officials, the wealthy and the princes. Saudi officials described it as fighting corruption, noting that despite the release of most of those who were detained at the Ritz -Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, Al -Fatti was transferred to a prison and detained for 21A month before his release in July 2019, awaiting trial.
The newspaper quotes a prominent official in the Foreign Ministry, as saying that Al -Fitnessi is facing accusations that include obtaining American citizenship without requesting permission from the Saudi government, and his relationship with a group linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Saudi Arabia is preparing, not the United States, a terrorist organization.
The official told the newspaper that a number of diplomats and the rest of the American officials, including Mike Pompeo, raised the Al -Fatehi case with the Saudis without any result, and the official commented: "We do not believe that there is an advantage of this issue."They did not provide information to justify his detention or his prevention and the rest of his family from traveling, which was described by the official as a kind of "collective penalties".
The report, quoting the son of the doctor, Ahmed Al -Fattahi, states that his mother, Lana Al -Oqqawi, was born in Texas, as well as the rest of his brothers, all of whom are American citizens, indicating that the family was traveling every year once to visit the United States, especially for tourism in the favorite place Nioport Beach.
Ahmed added that his 19 -year -old brother, Youssef, was planning to travel to America to study at the university there after high school..
Haberd states that after the arrest of their father, the security forces came and confiscated their passports and prevented them from traveling, and they were in a state.
The newspaper added that despite the father's return to work, the family is still stuck in Saudi Arabia, according to Ahmed Al -Fattahi, who says that his sister decided to hold a small wedding, while his brother submitted requests to study in American universities;Hope to lift the travel ban on it.
"The New York Times" concludes its report by referring to Ahmed's saying that his family and financial life has turned upside down, while the next session is expected to be tried to try Dr. Al -Fattahi on the second of February.
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