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May 24, 2004
A Horror Story of Saudi Arabia
On June of 2001, James Cottle, 51, traveled to Saudia Arabia to work on construction contracts. Within a few short months he found himself falsely imprisoned, regularly beaten, and forced to "confess", live on Saudi television, in the style of the Moscow show trials of the late 1930's.
The Saudis claim that he and seven other Europeans were behind a series of terrorist bombings that occured in the "Magic Kingdom" during November of 2000. The charge was that western bootleggers were engaged in a turf war, and that Cottle and the others were participants. However, in typical Stalinist fashion, they never presented any evidence this claim other than the confessions.
After being arrested in June of 2001 Cottle and the others were subjected to Saudi-style interrogation. The first day they yelled at him and slapped him around. Things got worse very quickly. The second night they started beating his feet. Cottle says that he was beaten six to eigtht hours every night. He spent 11 months in solitary confinement while the interrogations and beatings continued. Eventually he was allowed to share a cell with one of the other Britons accused of the bombings.
British consular officials were able to secure visits to him in jail. Although the questioned the Saudi authorities, the Saudis didn't show them any evidence that he was involved in any bombings.
During all this, his ex-wife, Mary Martini, attempted to secure his freedom through the Foreign Office (the UK equivalent of the U.S. Department of State). She says that she didn't receive much help from them. Initially she followed their request to "stay silent" and not create a public stir. However, after more than a year with no results, she grew impatient.
"Fifteen months later, I think we now really need demands by the Foreign Office, not questions asked", she told a BBC reporter.
"We asked Baroness Amos last year what would happen if we were here in another 12 months time and she said 'Well we hope we are not'." (Baroness Amos was dealing with this in her capacity as Minister for Trade and Industry)
"Well we still are - how much longer?"
She says that Baroness Amos told her that the Government thought it would put the mens lives at risk if she spoke to the media.
By his own admission, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw did not take a hard line with the Saudis. As quoted by the BBC, Straw "...defended the Foreign Office response, seen by some as "softly softly", as one which best served the prisoners, regardless of British trade interests."
Finally in January 2002 Martini decided to speak out. She contacted a British newspaper, The Guardian.
She says that she never intended to make a public flap, but that her family finally persuaded her that going public was the best course of action.
And indeed the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs quotes Minister Rammell (of the Foreign Office) as saying that: "our judgment, rightly or wrongly, was that the most effective way to secure the release of these men was to do that privately rather than raise the profile of the cause publicly." The committee concludes that "The evidence we have received on behalf of Mr. Cottle suggests that that judgment may have been wrong." Stronger retaliatory action was recommended in the future. The full report can be read here.
Martini appealed to the Foreign office asking for assistance. She says that the FCO (Foriegn and Commonweath Office) repeatedly lied to her. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintained that they were doing all that they could and that they visited with Cottle monthly.
While all of this was going on, bombs continued to go off in Saudi Arabia. Several news sources and human-rights groups investigated the matter and all concluded that the accused men were not responsible for the bombings. However, as of this writing, the "confessions" of several of the accused are still posted on a Saudi Arabian website.
In August of 2001 Cottle and two other Britons were forced to confess live on Saudi television. They were sentenced to 18 years in prison. Several others faced the death penalty, which in Saudi Arabia is by public beheading with a sword. Another, Sandy Mitchell, said that he was threatened with crucifixion.
Ron Jones was another Briton arrested for the bombings. After his release he had harsh words for the British government; "I have been tortured and my government will not stand up and condemn the Saudis for what they have done. Now why won't they do that?" Said the relative of another of the imprisoned men, "They didn't want to upset the Saudis. They wanted to keep it all nicey, nicey... They never put enough pressure on the Saudis."
Finally, on August 8 2003, Cottle and six others were released. Some were a royal pardon, but their convictions were not overturned. Cottle refused to sign the pardon paper so was granted a clemency, the latter not stating that he was sorry "for what he did." Their treatment at the hands of the Saudis had been so bad that Ms Martini said that "I really couldn't recognise the men at first, obviously because the picture of James they have shown was from when he was about 17 stone,"
Even though James Cottle is now a free man, Martini says that he still bears the scars of his imprisonment. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and relies on heavy medication and counselors. As quoted in the Guardian, Martini said that "James has been very affected by what he has been through. He gets tired from even from normal things like just walking. Making decisions also seems hard, even deciding what he wants to eat, simple things like that."
To the suprise of no one, the arrest and torture of Cottle and the others is typical of Saudia Arabia. Said Amnesty International, "Secrecy, torture and unfair trials are the hallmarks of Saudi justice."
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*** This story was brought to my attention by Mary Martini. She supplied me with information and links that made this story possible
*** Coming Soon: Analysis and commentary on British and American relationships with "friendly" authoritarian regimes such as Saudi Arabia.
Posted by Tom at May 24, 2004 10:28 AM
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