RIYADH, March 8: The United States has released 28 Saudi nationals detained in the wake of Sept 11 attacks. Only 11 Saudis were reported to be still in the US jails, the Saudi ambassador to Washington Prince Bandar ibn Sultan was quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency here as saying.
A number of those released have already left for home, while others were reported to be preparing to return. Three of the Saudis were released on bail and are awaiting trial.
About 175 Saudis were taken in for questioning following the Sept 11 attacks on Washington and New York. Several of the 19 presumed hijackers of the Sept 11 attacks carried Saudi passports.
Prince Bandar said most of the Saudis were detained for “immigration and traffic offences and other minor charges.” The Saudi embassy had arranged legal help for all the Saudis detained in the US in the aftermath of the Sept 11 incidents. It also arranged for the bail bonds, wherever, it was required.
More than 300 Saudi students, out of about 5,500 have also cut short their university studies in the United States and have in the meantime, returned back home, complaining of widespread abuse, harassment and maltreatment, mainly by the government agencies.
Meanwhile, the Saudi security authorities have denied arresting any suspects linked to the Al-Qaeda organisation during this Hajj season, the Saudi interior minister Prince Naif told the press here.
He denied the report carried by Associated Press that Saudi authorities had held a number of persons linked to Al-Qaeda, who tried to sneak into the Kingdom holding fake passports under the cover of Hajj.
AP had reported that Al-Qaeda suspects were arrested on arrival at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah. The agency had identified the arrested Al-Qaeda members as Pakistanis and Arabs.
“There is no truth in this report,” Prince Naif said categorically.
However, the interior minister pointed out there were several cases of pilgrims arriving with forged Hajj visas. He pointed out that a number of them had been allowed to perform Hajj, “considering their situation, as they were very old and we did not want to prevent them from doing Hajj. So we allowed them in,” Prince Naif clarified.
Earlier reports had indicated that the Kingdom deported 81 Egyptians, who attempted to enter the country on forged Hajj visas. Majority of the forged visas were reported to have originated from an establishment based in the Cairo district of Ain-Shams in Egypt.