Okaz, an Arabic daily reported that the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, delivered a letter of protest against ?excessive behavior by American security agencies in relation to Saudis.? The newspaper also reported that the FBI has, thus far, arrested and questioned 173 Saudis living or studying in the United States and that fifty-four of them are still under investigation. Ahmed Qattan, director of bin Sultan?s office, said that the suspect Saudis are ?generally in a satisfactory condition, despite individual cases of excessive interrogation and maltreatment by U.S. authorities.? Since the attacks in New York and Washington, the Saudi embassy has assisted more than 395 Saudis return to the Kingdom and has appointed lawyers to defend all Saudis detained since then.
Arab newspapers throughout Saudi Arabia have been carrying stories of harassment suffered by Arabs and Saudis in the United States and Western states since the September 11th attacks. According to the Saudi press, there have been instances of discriminatory policies enforced against Saudis on their way to the US, isolated discrimination and harassment, feelings of intimidation and refusal to serve Arabs throughout the West. For instance, the English language Arab News reported on a Saudi woman from a prominent business family in Jeddah who was manhandled by security officers at a London airport.
Bin Sultan informed U.S. officials that a number of the Saudis appearing on a published FBI list of suspects ?were either alive in the Kingdom or had died long ago.? Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef said that it was not at all clear if Saudis were actually involved in the attacks, as the presence of Saudi nationals among ?more than 600 passengers on the four hijacked planes? is not proof of anything.
Arab newspapers throughout Saudi Arabia have been carrying stories of harassment suffered by Arabs and Saudis in the United States and Western states since the September 11th attacks. According to the Saudi press, there have been instances of discriminatory policies enforced against Saudis on their way to the US, isolated discrimination and harassment, feelings of intimidation and refusal to serve Arabs throughout the West. For instance, the English language Arab News reported on a Saudi woman from a prominent business family in Jeddah who was manhandled by security officers at a London airport.
Bin Sultan informed U.S. officials that a number of the Saudis appearing on a published FBI list of suspects ?were either alive in the Kingdom or had died long ago.? Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef said that it was not at all clear if Saudis were actually involved in the attacks, as the presence of Saudi nationals among ?more than 600 passengers on the four hijacked planes? is not proof of anything.