Remember Khalid Muidh Alzahrani? A Saudi refugee who had fled religious persecution, last year he was kidnapped from his home in Christchurch and flown back to Saudi Arabia by Saudi officials. Now, there are worries that he has been executed:
Friends of a Saudi refugee who left New Zealand in mysterious circumstances fear he may have been put to death.
The police case file reveals no-one has heard from Khalid Muidh Abudulla Alzahrani, 43, since October, when he sent a series of text messages from Saudi Arabia to a friend stating he had been detained by his father, was due to appear in court and needed help from the New Zealand embassy.
The Government has been unable to assist, claiming it can do little for residents or refugees not travelling on a New Zealand passport.
Those who knew Alzahrani fear the worst. They believe he may have been imprisoned and tortured or executed.
So, just to make this clear, the Saudi Arabian government kidnapped a man to whom New Zealand had extended its protection, rendered him overseas, and may have murdered him. And our government simply doesn't want to know. I guess they wouldn't want any concerns about criminal behaviour or human rights from interfering with their precious trade deals.
Meanwhile, I'm still wondering: where were the SIS? We pay them $50 million a year specifically to protect us from stuff like this. Either there was a failure of intelligence around the Saudi government's actions, or they let them happen. Either way, we deserve some answers, so we can make sure this never happens again.
