There are grave fears for the health of an Australian man and father of five in jail for more than two weeks in a Saudi prison under the country's blasphemy laws.Mansor Almaribe, 45,
| Not named Bruce, then... |
Almaribe, a Shiite Muslim,
| All becomes clear. There's his religious offense -- no more is needed. |
He has only been permitted one brief conversation with his family, borrowing the mobile phone of an Australian diplomat during a two-hour consular visit on November 23.
Almaribe's eldest son, Jamal, said that a witness at the time of the arrest reported a group had been praying and reading when the police accosted them and arrested his father. He said, "I'm so worried about my dad's health, he's in a bad, bad situation."
Jamal said his father fled by boat to Australia from Iraq in 1999.
| What, all the way? Or did he perhaps board an airplane in Iran... |
Efforts to engage Saudi lawyers have been unsuccessful because the family cannot afford the $5000 fee demanded to begin work on Almaribe's case. Under Saudi law, only Muslims can enter Medina, complicating efforts by Australian officials to reach Almaribe from the embassy in Riyadh.
Local police have not always answered telephone calls and efforts to fax his medical records to authorities have not yet been unsuccessful. An embassy official is expected to seek to deliver the records to the police by hand today and visit Almaribe.
Australian officials have been told an investigation into his case might not be finished until December 21.