Catholic leader asks Saudi King to release a Christian prisoner
New Delhi (AsiaNews) "We request His Majesty to take appropriate steps to see that the religious police stop the torture, and that Brian is given a fair trial and released". John Dayal, a Catholic activist, asks King Fahad bin Abdulaziz al Said to release the Indian citizen. Dayal has written a letter to the king through the Saudi ambassador in India.
John Dayal is the vice-president of the All India Catholic Union, which represents 16 million of Indian Catholics. In his letter to king Fahad, he recalls the historic and warm relationship between India and the Saudi Kingdom. "Many Indians, among them Catholics, are working in Saudi Arabia, peacefully". Dayal affirms that he "received with a sense of deep injury and revulsion" the news that O'Connor was arrested by the Saudi police. He concludes his letter by saying that "freedom of Faith is integral to contemporary civilization. It is also part of the United Nations guarantees to all Human beings".
The Muttawa (the Saudi religious police) abducted O'Connor six months ago, while he was in Riyadh. He was temporarily imprisoned in a Mosque, where the agents of the religious police tortured him. Mr. O'Connor has received visitors and has communicated that he was hung upside down. "They kicked me in the chest and played soccer using my head as a ball". Mr. O'Connor is presently being held at the Olaya police station in Riyadh. Local police affirm they did not interrogate the prisoner. Apparently, only the Muttawa tortured Mr. O'Connor. The religious police accused the Indian citizen of drug related crimes, of selling liquor and of preaching the Gospel. O'Connor's family declared that all the drug related charges have been made up by the police. According to those who visited him, O'Connor has been threatened. If he does not renounce his faith, he could face death penalty. He is known to be an upstanding citizen and a good Christian. Often the Saudi police violently torture Christian prisoners and force them to sign documents in Arabic, admitting to the crimes they have been accused of.
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