From Compass Direct
An Indian national abducted and tortured 10 weeks ago by Saudi Arabiaâs religious police for âspreading Christianityâ remains jailed in Riyadhâs Al-Hair Prison without trial or even formal charges against him. Brian Savio OâConnor, 36, was accosted on Al Massif street just outside his living quarters in the Mursalat district of Riyadh early on the evening of March 25. As he started down the street, a muttawa (member of the religious police) stopped him, asking harshly, âWhy did you not attend âSalahâ [evening prayers]?â Surprised, since shops along the street were already re-opening as their owners returned from Muslim prayers, OâConnor took out his Saudi identity card, proving that he was a Christian. When another three men came up and tried to grab his I.D. card, OâConnor ran back to a shop where he had seen a work acquaintance. But the group of men chased him into the shop, grabbing and beating him right there.
| His ID card proved he was an untermensch, of course... |
OâConnor was then dragged to a mosque with an adjacent muttawa office just behind his home. There, OâConnor later told friends who visited him in prison, his legs were chained and he was hung upside down. For the next seven hours, his muttawa captors alternately kicked and beat him in the chest and ribs. According to International Christian Concern, a U.S.-based advocacy group who first broke the news of OâConnorâs arrest on March 31, OâConnor was âwhipped on his back and soles of his feet by electrical wires,â causing intense pain.
| Yes, the religion of peace. |
After some time, one of his tormentors told him that he would not be harmed any further if he just âtold the truth.â When questioned, OâConnor declared that he did preach the Bible, but he denied converting Muslims to Christianity. A few minutes later, the beatings resumed, along with painful squeezing of his face. OâConnor said that at one point, when he was gasping for breath and moaning from the blows, a muttawa placed a call on his mobile telephone to a Saudi coordinator at his place of work. Laughing loudly, the muttawa held the phone to OâConnorâs mouth so the man on the line could hear the Indianâs groans.
| Who was on the other end? The Maquis al-Sade? |
Finally at 2 oâclock the next morning, the muttawa took OâConnor to the Olaya police station, ordering him put under arrest on three charges: preaching Christianity, selling liquor and peddling drugs. Ten days later, the Indian Christian was transferred to Riyadhâs Al-Hair Prison. While held at Olaya, OâConnor was allowed visits by several friends, who then notified the Indian Embassy of his arrest. Although two embassy representatives visited him on April 3, the day before he was sent to prison, they have not since been allowed access to him by Saudi authorities. âThe charges against him are spreading Christianity, plus liquor,â an Indian Embassy official confirmed yesterday to Compass from Riyadh. âWe requested to visit him in prison about two weeks ago,â he specified, âso we will go as soon as we get permission.â
| Maybe you shouldn't be so polite and humble about asking. |
In April, an embassy representative told one of the prisonerâs friends that OâConnor had âbroken Saudi lawâ by having five Bibles, one of them Arabic and another Urdu, and that he had even admitted that he was teaching the Bible in his home. .... OâConnor himself has apparently been told that his embassy has secretly âagreedâ with Saudi officials that he will serve a three-month sentence at Al-Hair Prison, and then be deported without any court proceedings. The Indian Embassy has denied any such arrangement. .... A cargo agent for Saudia Airlines, OâConnor left his hometown of Hubli in Indiaâs Karnataka State six years ago to work in Saudi Arabia. The Indian Christian currently shares a windowless cell with 16 other inmates at Al-Hair Prison.
| Hopefully, he's busy converting them all... |
Located on the southern edge of Riyadh, the facility is Saudi Arabiaâs largest prison, housing an estimated 3,500 prisoners. âI am in here for a purpose,â OâConnor told a visitor last month, âand unless and until that assignment is complete, I cannot be released.â At least two of his cellmates have come to faith in Christ during his confinement, and others have asked him to pray for them.
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