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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/06/60minutes/main615986.shtml
Our "allies" in the WOT, Saudi Arabia, are the cowards who cover up for terror attacks within their own borders by framing and executing innocent people (out of fear of unrest amongst the segment of their population that supports Al Qaeda and Osama Bin laden). I've been saying that for months, and now the lies and cover ups (with which our administration has been an accomplice) are starting to unravel.
May 9, 2004
Saudi Justice
(CBS) Why did the Government of Saudi Arabia frame seven westerners for a series of car bombings they didn't commit?
Those car bombings, which began in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in November 2000, killed three members of the expatriate community and severely injured several others. To Western observers, they were clearly the work of Islamic fundamentalists. But the Saudis were not about to admit that. So five Britons, a Canadian and a Belgian found themselves arrested, systematically tortured into false confessions and eventually convicted of those bombings.
Since the release of the men from a Saudi Arabian jail last summer, it's emerged that the Saudis were secretly using them as pawns in a bigger game - a game that for two of the men almost ended in a terrible death. One of those men was Dr. William Sampson, a Canadian who now lives in England.
..............
Sampson was blindfolded and driven to a closely guarded building on the outskirts of Riyadh, which is the detention center of the Mabahith - the Saudi security police. There, he was tortured into confessing that he had carried out those bombings.
“It initially started with punchings and kickings, and that progressed from beating me on the soles of my feet to being hung upside down in a position known as the chicken -- with your feet uppermost and your feet and backside exposed, readily available for beating,†says Sampson. “And between interrogation sessions, I was returned to the same cell and handcuffed to the door, so I couldn't sit down and I couldn't sleep.â€
He said that after being beating on the soles of his feet and chained to the door, he stood in agony: “There’s no way you can, I could even kneel down in that position, and so I'd be standing on my feet which were swollen, so badly swollen that they were actually exuding plasma through the skin.â€
How long did it take before he confessed? “On the night of the sixth day is when I started to confess, when I would, I couldn't take any more,†says Sampson. “At that stage, I mean, I used to pray that, I would pray during the beatings that I would black out, and I never did. And by that stage, I was actually praying that I would just die.†Sampson, however, wasn't the only one who wanted to die. One of his friends, Sandy Mitchell, who is British, was also tortured into confessing to those bombings.
At the time of his arrest, Mitchell was living in Riyadh with his Thai wife and son, and working as the chief anesthetic technician in a hospital. “As bad as the pain was, the breaking point, when I got to the extent that I would say anything to please these people, was when they said, ‘We're going to arrest your wife. She's a Thai national, we can do anything we want to her,’†says Mitchell. “And at that stage, I decided I would confess to anything. They knew we were innocent. They had to tell us what to say.â€
Mitchell and Sampson's confessions were taped and shown on Saudi TV. And the men's zombie-like appearance left western observers no doubt that they'd been forced to make these statements against their will.
...........
Who does he think planted these bombs?
“We have always said that according to our sources inside the security apparatus, Saudi security apparatus, there are small splinter groups who have the general interest similar to al Qaeda,†says al-Faghi.
As car bombs continued to explode in Riyadh and elsewhere in the kingdom, the Saudis kept up the pressure on the British Government and rounded up the usual suspects. In August 2001, three more British men were paraded on Saudi TV to confess their guilt. Meanwhile, Sampson and Mitchell were tried in secret and found guilty solely on the basis of those confessions.
Mitchell says that the same man who was doing the torturing was the prosecutor. Who represented Mitchell and Sampson? “There was no defense. I was asked, ‘Did you make that statement?’ ‘Yes, but under duress,’†says Mitchell. “’Did you make that statement, yes or no?’ â€Yes.’ That was it, trial over.â€
(Complete report at URL above)
Our "allies" in the WOT, Saudi Arabia, are the cowards who cover up for terror attacks within their own borders by framing and executing innocent people (out of fear of unrest amongst the segment of their population that supports Al Qaeda and Osama Bin laden). I've been saying that for months, and now the lies and cover ups (with which our administration has been an accomplice) are starting to unravel.
May 9, 2004
Saudi Justice
(CBS) Why did the Government of Saudi Arabia frame seven westerners for a series of car bombings they didn't commit?
Those car bombings, which began in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in November 2000, killed three members of the expatriate community and severely injured several others. To Western observers, they were clearly the work of Islamic fundamentalists. But the Saudis were not about to admit that. So five Britons, a Canadian and a Belgian found themselves arrested, systematically tortured into false confessions and eventually convicted of those bombings.
Since the release of the men from a Saudi Arabian jail last summer, it's emerged that the Saudis were secretly using them as pawns in a bigger game - a game that for two of the men almost ended in a terrible death. One of those men was Dr. William Sampson, a Canadian who now lives in England.
..............
Sampson was blindfolded and driven to a closely guarded building on the outskirts of Riyadh, which is the detention center of the Mabahith - the Saudi security police. There, he was tortured into confessing that he had carried out those bombings.
“It initially started with punchings and kickings, and that progressed from beating me on the soles of my feet to being hung upside down in a position known as the chicken -- with your feet uppermost and your feet and backside exposed, readily available for beating,†says Sampson. “And between interrogation sessions, I was returned to the same cell and handcuffed to the door, so I couldn't sit down and I couldn't sleep.â€
He said that after being beating on the soles of his feet and chained to the door, he stood in agony: “There’s no way you can, I could even kneel down in that position, and so I'd be standing on my feet which were swollen, so badly swollen that they were actually exuding plasma through the skin.â€
How long did it take before he confessed? “On the night of the sixth day is when I started to confess, when I would, I couldn't take any more,†says Sampson. “At that stage, I mean, I used to pray that, I would pray during the beatings that I would black out, and I never did. And by that stage, I was actually praying that I would just die.†Sampson, however, wasn't the only one who wanted to die. One of his friends, Sandy Mitchell, who is British, was also tortured into confessing to those bombings.
At the time of his arrest, Mitchell was living in Riyadh with his Thai wife and son, and working as the chief anesthetic technician in a hospital. “As bad as the pain was, the breaking point, when I got to the extent that I would say anything to please these people, was when they said, ‘We're going to arrest your wife. She's a Thai national, we can do anything we want to her,’†says Mitchell. “And at that stage, I decided I would confess to anything. They knew we were innocent. They had to tell us what to say.â€
Mitchell and Sampson's confessions were taped and shown on Saudi TV. And the men's zombie-like appearance left western observers no doubt that they'd been forced to make these statements against their will.
...........
Who does he think planted these bombs?
“We have always said that according to our sources inside the security apparatus, Saudi security apparatus, there are small splinter groups who have the general interest similar to al Qaeda,†says al-Faghi.
As car bombs continued to explode in Riyadh and elsewhere in the kingdom, the Saudis kept up the pressure on the British Government and rounded up the usual suspects. In August 2001, three more British men were paraded on Saudi TV to confess their guilt. Meanwhile, Sampson and Mitchell were tried in secret and found guilty solely on the basis of those confessions.
Mitchell says that the same man who was doing the torturing was the prosecutor. Who represented Mitchell and Sampson? “There was no defense. I was asked, ‘Did you make that statement?’ ‘Yes, but under duress,’†says Mitchell. “’Did you make that statement, yes or no?’ â€Yes.’ That was it, trial over.â€
(Complete report at URL above)
royal family is not going to be able to hold on to power indefinitely. The threat from inside comes from the younger generation-grumbling in the ranks about the oppressive nature of their religious rule. Outside, radical islamofascism that cares not about selling oil to the west, presents another very real danger. If OBL or his clones are able to take Saudi Arabia militarily, the U.S., as well as the rest of the western world, would be forced to act in national security interests.