ARREST/RELEASE OF CHRISTIAN INDIANS IN TAIF

S E C R E T JEDDAH 000186

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

RIYADH PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN, DEPARTMENT FOR BRIAN MCGRATH
IN NEA/ARP AND AL GOMBIS IN DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2028
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KIRF SA
SUBJECT: ARREST/RELEASE OF CHRISTIAN INDIANS IN TAIF

Classified By: Classified by Acting Consul General CB Toney


1. (S) SUMMARY: On April 25, plain-clothed Saudis of unknown
affiliation arrested 16 Christian Indians -- including women
and children -- for conducting a worship service in the
southwestern city of Taif. Police raided the worship
location, locked-in everyone present, questioned them, and
then transported them to local jails. For three days men
remained in one jail while women and children remained in
another for an additional day, with sparse food and little to
no means of communication. On April 27, the police informed
the men that they could call their sponsors to secure their
release, and the following day, the women and children were
also permitted to leave. The 16 Indians have returned to
Taif but they, as well as the greater Christian Taif
community, remain concerned about the arrest and are
apprehensive about the possibility of subsequent raids.
While the police did not confiscate religious materials or
inform them that they had to discontinue practicing
Christianity, they have become more cautious and now conduct
services in smaller, gender-segregated groups. END SUMMARY

SAUDIS RAID APARTMENT, QUESTION INDIANS


2. (S) Mid-morning April 25 plain-clothed Saudis of unknown
affiliation broke the door that led to the second-floor
apartment in which the 16 Christian Indians were conducting
worship service in Taif (3 hours by car from Jeddah). They
entered the apartment, locked-in the Indians, and questioned
them for 3 to 4 hours but did not confiscate anything,
including the Bibles in plain site. After their release,
ConGenOffs learned that the Saudis questioned them about the
following: meeting membership, specifically whether Saudis or
other nationalities attended, and on whether they offered
religious classes. Additionally, they asked several
questions about the musical instruments and donations box
present as well as whether the apartment was a 'disco.'

POLICE ARREST INDIANS, ALLEGE MANY CHARGES


3. (S) After hours of questioning at the Taif apartment, the
police transported and placed the 11 men in the "Faisaleya"
jail and the 3 women and 2 children in the main Taif jail,
where they remained for 3 to 4 days, respectively. A few of
the victims shared that the Taif police had arrested them for
establishing a church, dancing, and mixing of genders.
(NOTE: The Office of the Governor must grant permission for
all religious police raids. END NOTE). Those arrested all
possessed Saudi national identity cards with Christianity
stated as their religion.

MEN, AND WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN SEPARATE JAILS; DESCRIBE
CONDITIONS


4. (S) Following their release, a few of the victims were
able to describe their jail conditions. The police grouped
the 11 men together into one 5 foot by 10 foot cell with a
hole as a urinal. They received small portions of food and
purchased water from one of the foreign jail cleaners. The
morning of April 26 police made two of the men clean other
jail cells. They also stated that the police while laughing
made two of the men briefly stand-up and sit down and hold
their ears and bow down. (COMMENT: The police may have had
them bow to mimic Muslim prayer; however, the Indians
considered it "a punishment." END COMMENT.) Additionally,
one of the men suffers from hypertension and did not have
medication but was able to obtain it from the outside.


5. (S) The 3 women and 2 children were initially in three
separate rooms but police then moved them to one larger,
carpeted room. To share among them they received one plate
of food for each meal. The mother of the two children
repeatedly begged for additional food and milk, and
subsequently, a Saudi female guard provided a bottle of milk.
They added that a female police officer made two of the
women strip nude and then stand-up and sit down a few times
in quick succession. However, neither the men nor the women
and children alleged significant physical mistreatment.

FOR INDIANS JAIL RELEASE WAS SPONTANEOUS


6. (S) On April 27, the men, some of who later shared their
experience, stated that their release came as a surprise when
around 3 o'clock police entered the cell and told them to
call their sponsors to come and pick them up. A few hours
later, the police returned their mobile phones and permitted
them to call their sponsors. Not until the following day did
the police release the women and children, which they said
was due to having to wait for a specific officer to arrive to
authorize their release. (NOTE: Prior to that day at least
one sponsor had tried to secure the release of one of the
Indians but was unable to do so. END NOTE.) However, upon
their release, they said that the police never told them that
they had to stop practicing Christianity.

COMMENT


7. (S) This is the first known raid of a Christian worship
service in Saudi Arabia within at least a year. While the
police can only conduct raids with the permission of the
Governor, it is unclear who within Governor of Taif Fahad bin
Mo'amar's office permitted the raid. In either case, this
incident reveals a disparity between low-level and
senior-level officials regarding the Kingdom's policy toward
non-Muslims. King Abdullah has called for interfaith
dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims and undertook
the first-ever meeting between a Pope, Pope Benedict XVI, and
the Saudi monarch in November 2007. It is unclear whether
this will remain an isolated event but given that the police
neither confiscated the religious materials nor told the
Christian Indians to discontinue worship, subsequent raids
may be possible but not seem imminent or likely. END COMMENT
TONEY