Manama: Saudi security authorities have arrested 19 terror suspects from different Arab countries in the last two weeks.
The suspects were detained in various parts of the vast kingdom, Saudi daily Al Riyadh reported on Wednesday.
According to the figures released by the Ministry of Interior, 13 of the suspects were Egyptians, while the others were from Yemen, Syria, Jordan and the UAE.
The website of the Interior Ministry’s prisoners’ centre “Nafethah” said that Yemenis topped the list of the Arab detainees in Saudi jails with 343, followed by Syrians with 145 and Egyptians with 48.
Earlier this month, the site indicated that the number of American nationals detained in Saudi Arabia has risen to nine after four more US citizens were arrested last month on security-related charges.
It said that four US citizens have been detained on January 25, two since December and two since November.
One American has been held since March 2007. According to the website, he has been convicted, but his sentence has been appealed.
Five of the detainees have residency permits, three have passports and one has a replacement card.
The site, in line with the ministry’s policy, did not give the detainees’ full names, but did mention their initials in Arabic.
According to the site, one Briton has been held since June 2012, one French national has been held since February last year and one Chinese national has been held since June. No German, Canadian or Russian nationals have been held.
The Saudi authorities said in January they arrested 33 Saudis, four Yemenis, two Syrians, one Indonesian, one Filipino, one Emirati, one Kazakhstani, one Palestinian and one Pakistani.
The Nafethah (Windows) site was launched to help detainees communicate with their families, the interior ministry said.
“Nafethah portal was created to help bridge the communication gap between the inmates and their families wherever they are,” the ministry said. “The Communication Window also aims to enable the families of in-mates to receive updated information on their status. Nafethah shows the interior ministry’s keenness on providing the latest various e-services that meet people’s needs and save their time and effort.”
The site also provides updated information on the detainees’ numbers and nationalities.
