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Imprisoned Soddy al-Qaeda treated like family
 Seven jailed Saudi militants have made a televised appeal to al Qaeda sympathisers in the kingdom to surrender, denying reports of torture in captivity and saying prison guards treated them like family. The apparently repentant militants appeared on state television to persuade the fighters behind an 18-month wave of violence they will not be mistreated if they turn themselves in. Cameras were allowed into a Riyadh prison for the television programme, which aired late Tuesday, to show gleaming corridors, rows of colourful beds and books piled on bedside tables."Anyone who has experienced the reality finds a big difference between the many cases of torture we heard about and what we found," prisoner Abdulrahman al-Ahmari said.| "The Swedish meatballs and lingonberry sauce are exceptional. Really first rate." |
The dealings with the prison administration, the sympathy for the prisoners' wishes ... I can call it a family connection," Ahmari told the programme.| "The House of Sod Department of Corrections...It's A Family Affair!" |
| Well, everyone there seems to be related. |
Saudi television has previously broadcast footage of jailed militants calling on their former comrades to surrender, but the glowing portrayal of prison marks a new tactic in the state media drive to undermine support for al Qaeda. "We heard about torture, about mistreatment ... I found that al-Hayer (prison) was not like that," said Ahmari, referring to the detention centre near the Saudi capital where he was held.| "Truly, more like a finishing school for wayward hard boyz. And the corrections officers are so friendly, ya know? They really try hard to get to know you...always asking questions 'n' stuff..." |
Abdullah al-Silmi said he surrendered after hearing Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz say that militants who gave themselves up would be treated more leniently and those who were just sympathisers had nothing to fear. "If I had known I would have had this reception, by God I would have surrendered a long time ago," he said. "...I advise the wanted brothers who harbour these thoughts to give themselves up". Khaled al-Harbi, who appeared in a videotape with Saudi-born al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden praising the Sept. 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, told the television programme he surrendered after hearing about the June amnesty on the radio. Othman al-Amri, who was number 19 on a list of Saudi Arabia's 26 most wanted militants before he gave himself up in June, praised the treatment he received. "After I came and saw these peoples' situation, I swear to God it's better than our family," he said.Sounds swell. Has the International Red Moon-Shaped Thingy Crescent Society inspected their cells yet? |
Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-12-15 |
