Britons in Saudi bomb case lodge appeals
Paul Kelso
Wednesday July 24, 2002
The Guardian
guardian.co.uk
Lawyers for five Britons held in connection with anti-western bombings in Saudi Arabia yesterday lodged defence submissions with the supreme court in the kingdom.
The Britons, who received sentences of between 12 years and the death penalty at a secret hearing this year, hope the submissions - effectively appeals - will lead to their release.
The men, who were part of the expatriate drinking scene in Riyadh, were arrested following a wave of bombings in the kingdom. British engineer Christopher Rodway was killed in a car bomb explosion in November 2000, and since then several westerners have been seriously injured.
Last month a British banker, Simon Veness, was killed in a car bomb explosion similar to the one that killed Rodway. Internal dissidents are widely believed to be responsible for the attacks.
Britons Sandy Mitchell, Les Walker, James Cottle and James Lee, with William Sampson, a Canadian, and Raf Schyvens, a Belgian, appeared in televised "confessions" to the bombings. The fifth Briton, Peter Brandon, did not appear. All the men apart from Schyvens subsequently withdrew the confessions.
The Saudi authorities accused them of carrying out the bombings as part of a turf war over the illicit alcohol trade. An investigation by the Guardian earlier this year found this to be false, and uncovered evidence of torture and intimidation by Saudi officials investigating the explosions.
Salah Al-Hejailan, one of the lawyers, said the arguments he had submitted to the court were "powerful and detailed".
"We have asked for the immediate release of the men and compensation for the discomfort they have suffered," he said.
"The men were subject to pressure and the confessions were dictated. The entire story is phoney. We expect a favourable outcome, perhaps within the next few weeks."
In letters to the men's families the lawyers suggest three possible outcomes:
First, the men could be released immediately.
Second, they could be detained for a short period, "consistent with their involvement in the illegal alcohol trade", and then deported. If this alternative is chosen, the lawyers predict the men will be "quietly pardoned".
Third is for the case to be reinvestigated, in which case they are likely to remain in jail.
The lawyers said Veness's murder added weight to the Britons' case, suggesting the real bombers were still at large.
Mr Al-Hejailan said he was concerned that the testimony of Schyvens, who is understood to be standing by his confession on the advice of his legal team and the Belgian authorities, could work against the Britons. Schyvens was sentenced to just eight years despite "confessing" to planting a bomb. The Britons have all declined to plea bargain.
"In the absence of any material evidence the word of the Belgian could become important," said Mr Al-Hejailan. "The whole story is from his imagination, but he has been urged to take this path by his own embassy."
Mary Martini, Cottle's former wife and the mother of his children, said: "It seems something is happening at last, but as usual we will have to wait and see what it leads to. It's difficult to know what to tell the children."
The Foreign Office declined to comment.
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