EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS IN RIYADH/JEDDAH COMMENT ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000498 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2013 TAGS: ELAB KIRF KISL KTIP PHUM SA SMIG SOCI XF SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS IN RIYADH/JEDDAH COMMENT ON PLIGHT OF JAILED DOCTORS Classified By: Acting CG CB Toney for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C)SUMMARY: In 2004, two Egyptian doctors were arrested in Jeddah on multiple charges including drug smuggling and rape. Their punishment was recently increased significantly by an appeals judge. Officials from the Egyptian Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate in Jeddah offered little support for the doctors and commented that the matter has been overblown by the press and by some within the Egyptian government. END SUMMARY. Doctors Arrested in 2004, Sentences -------------- Increased in 2008 -------------- ¶2. (U) Two doctors, Raoof Amin Muhammad Al-Arabi and Shawqi Abd Rabboh Ibrahim were arrested in 2006 and 2007 in Jeddah. According to an official release of information by the Director of HEALTH Affairs on November 14, Dr. Ibrahim was arrested Oct 21, 2006 on drug trafficking charges with the intention to sell. Dr. Al-Arabi was arrested on April 14, 2007 and was charged with similar crimes as well as getting his sponsor's wife addicted to drugs. The statement alleges that Al-Arabi sold drugs to Ibrahim. The doctors lost a recent appeal and their sentences were increased, in the case of Al-Arabi from seven years and 700 lashes to 15 years and 1500 lashes. Ibrahim was given 20 years and an unknown number of lashes. His original sentence is not clear. The official statement claims an illicit relationship between Ibrahim and the sponsor's wife. ¶3. (C) An outcry of protest within Egypt, significant international press coverage, and a decision by the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower to ban the sending of some doctors to Egypt raised the profile of the cases. The media and official accounts of the crimes, punishments and personal connections of the doctors vary significantly by source. Some stories and officials allege that Al-Arabi was involved in the sexual abuse and rape of patients. Media sources state that Ibrahim was working for a royal family and got a princess addicted to drugs. Ibrahim is stated by some sources to have had sexual relations with some of his patients. By ONE account, Ibrahim purchased the drugs used to addict the princess from Al-Arabi. ¶4. (C) Mohamed Safwat (First Secretary/Political Officer) from the Egyptian Embassy in Riyadh met with PolOff in Riyadh and Egyptian Consul Ali Al-Halawani met with Poloff in Jeddah to discuss the case. Safwat asserts that the Egyptian Minister of Manpower took it upon herself to ban any additional Egyptian doctors from working in KSA. Safwat says this was done without consulting the President or the MFA and has annoyed the Saudis. There had been negotiations with the Egyptians to open a chain of medical clinics in the Kingdom, manned by Egyptian doctors, but this is now being discussed with the Syrians. He holds his own government's reaction partially responsible for the reaction. Al-Halawani claims that there was never any attempt by the Egyptian Labor Ministry or the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower to ban the sending of all doctors to Egypt as some reports have claimed, but only 27 specified hospitals. Official Egyptian Reaction -------------- ¶5. (C) Safwat noted that the doctors claim they were pressured into signing a confession for the crime, with the choice being that if they did not do so, they would "disappear" and be handled outside the courts. This is ONE basis for appeal along with the claim that the doctor (one or both) was actually treating the princess for an addiction she already had. Al-Halawani objected to the fact that the cases of the two Egyptians remain linked in the courts. ¶6. (C) According to Safwat, the Egyptians were originally hopeful for a pardon from the King, but that hope is now gone because of the reaction in Egypt and the press attention that has frustrated the Saudis. (Al-Halawani still thinks a pardon is possible) Al-Halwani mentioned that the Egyptian Consulate has passed the appeal of the two doctors to King Abdullah's office. He claimed that this event does not signify consulate support for the appeal and that this is a normal service the consulate can provide. The case is also now pending the next level of appeal at the higher courts. Unlike the appeals court whose ruling can be overturned or upheld by the judge of the original court, this higher body's decision is final. Princess? Who said anything about a princess? JEDDAH 00000498 002 OF 002 -------------- ¶7. (C) Safwat asserted that the "princess" in question is related to Bandar bin Muhammad bin Abd al-Aziz (the son of the infamous prince ordered that his granddaughter be stoned to death for adultery in 1977). According to Safwat, Due to the prominence of the family, the names have not been made public. Media accounts often refer to a "princess." However, Al-Halawani denies there is a princess involved and says that the media has gotten it wrong. "Lenient" Sentences? -------------- ¶8. (C) An official statement released from the Egyptian Embassy describes the penalties as "moderate". According to Safwat, the crimes committed by the doctors should have resulted in the death penalty. He noted that "it would have been easier had they been executed." This would be the normal punishment for trafficking in narcotics or for a sexual assault. He said the "lenience" was not requested by the Egyptians, since they believe the trial was fair. They could not question the verdict without questioning the legal system, which they accept in concept. Al-Halawani was much more critical of the legal system, recognizing the disconnect between law and practice in Saudi Arabia as well as the strange practice of doling out additional punishments at an appeal. ¶9. (C) Safwat said his Ambassador describes the lashings in this way: The "lasher" holds a Qur'an under his arm, and actually conducts the lashings with the forearm. It is not done with a whip, but with a thin stick. Al-Halawani also downplayed the significance of the lashings as a punishment, remarking that the purpose is mostly embarrassment. Al-Halawani stressed that the vast majority of Egyptians are law-abiding in Saudi Arabia. ¶10. (C) COMMENT. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry seems intent on minimizing the significance of this event, likely a reflection of the primacy of remittance flows in directing government action in labor cases. ONE troubling legal ramification of the case is the handing down of increased penalties on appeal, a result that will likely deter other defendants from appealing their sentences and which may further weaken an already fragile appeals system. END COMMENT. TONEY