Six Britons and a Canadian jailed in Saudi Arabia over a series of bombings that killed one person arrived back in Britain on Friday after being freed and deported by Saudi authorities.
Canadian William Sampson and Briton Alexander Mitchell were sentenced to death in October 2001, while Britons James Lee, James Cottle, Les Walker and Peter Brandon were given prison sentences.
A sixth Briton, Glenn Ballard, who was detained for 10 months but not charged, also was released.
Raf Schyvens, from Belgium, who was also convicted and sentenced to prison in Saudi Arabia was released Friday and arrived back in Belgium, the Belgian Foreign Ministry said.
The men were sentenced in relation to two bombings in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in late 2000, in which a Briton, Christopher Rodway, was killed and four other people injured.
The Riyadh bombings were followed by several other blasts, which Saudi officials blamed on disputes between gangs dealing in alcohol, which is forbidden in the kingdom under Islamic laws but is not difficult to obtain.
The British men's relatives had often said that the charges against them were trumped up and that the bombings were the work of Islamic fundamentalists targeting Westerners.
Canadian and British officials had worked hard behind the scenes to persuade Saudi officials to free the men, but it was not immediately clear if the Western governments believed the defendants were innocent, or simply mistreated in custody and given harsh sentences.
On Friday, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw welcomed the men's release. "I am relieved that they have returned to the U.K. and their families. It has obviously been a very difficult time for the men, and for their families. Ministers and officials have worked hard for this outcome," he said.
Canadian Foreign Affairs minister Bill Graham said Sampson's release followed a plea for clemency made directly to the Saudi royal family. Graham said he would check with Sampson about whether he or any of the other captives had been tortured in Saudi custody.
Straw's office released a statement from the British men saying they were delighted to be home, thanking their families and the government for their support, and asking the media for privacy.
RSS