Saudi Arabia's only human rights watchdog expressed concern Monday over the reported disappearance of Saudi nationals visiting Syria.
Saleh Khathalan, deputy president of the Saudi National Organization for Human Rights, was quoted by the daily al-Watan as saying the watchdog is investigating the fate of five Saudi teachers who traveled to Syria as tourists and have vanished there.
Such incidents have been recurring in Syria, which is a dangerous indicator about the security status of the Saudi nationals in that country, Khathalan said.
It is possible that the Saudis are being kidnapped by Syrian gangs who might be selling them out to U.S. forces in Iraq under the pretext that they are fighters, or they might be kept for ransom, he said.
There is a mystery over the fate of the missing Saudis and this needs to be investigated by the Foreign Ministry or the Saudi Embassy in Damascus, he added. |