Muslim Trini student detained in Saudi Arabia
[Trinidad Express] – It has been almost a month since 30-year-old Trinidadian national Tariq Mohammed has been detained in a Saudi Arabia prison under suspicion of being a terrorist.
Mohammed, a final-year student at the University of Medinah in Saudi Arabia, was detained on August 21 after returning from vacation in Trinidad. He is being held in a detention centre in Buraidah where people under investigation for political and security offences are kept.
Mohammed’s family members have not been able to see or speak with him since his detention, and his father, local radio talk show host Shamoon Mohammed, says he knows nothing of his son’s condition.
“It’s a total blackout,” said Shamoon Mohammed yesterday. “We have no idea where he is, if he’s getting food. We have had no communication with him whatsoever.”
He said Mohammed’s pregnant wife, Saudah, and their infant son were surviving on the goodwill of neighbours as Saudi officials had confiscated the family’s belongings, including passports and other documents, as well as a sum of cash which was to be used to cover living expenses.
Without her documents or her husband to accompany her, Saudah has been unable to move around, according to Saudi regulations. Shamoon said however, officials have since returned Saudah’s passport and other documents so she may now move around freely.
The money is yet to be returned. Shamoon Mohammed made an appeal to the Ministries of National Security and Foreign Affairs to expedite negotiations to have his son released as he fears the case will drag on like another matter in which several Muslims from this country have been detained in Venezuela for some 18 months.
In a phone interview, he said his son’s case is one of mistaken identity as his son is not involved in any terrorist activity and is dedicated to his studies.
“They were looking for an individual with my son’s name. Not my son and his wife and child. He is a normal, law-abiding citizen.”
He added he had faith the Government would ensure a speedy resolution. “It’s a very unfortunate experience, but we have confidence that our Government is going to take the necessary action, via whatever channel, to have this matter resolved.”
Obama wants deeper relationship between US, Jamaica
WASHINGTON, D C, United States (JIS) — President of the United States, Barack Obama, says Jamaica is a vital partner in the fight against transnational crime.
“We have supported your exemplary effort by providing training and equipment to the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Jamaica Defence Force as well as working to improve overall security within the Caribbean basin,” the President told new Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Ralph Thomas.
At a ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday, when the ambassador presented his credentials, President Obama said the US is also working with the Government of Jamaica to improve the country’s energy diversity and security.
“The Jamaica Clean Energy Programme, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will help pave the way for clean energy development in Jamaica. Clean, diverse and reliable sources of energy are keys to ensuring the economic prosperity of your island,” he added.
The President welcomed the ambassador, and said he is looking forward to working together, “to advance our common agenda as we deepen further the strong and abiding friendship of our two countries”.
In his reply, Ambassador Thomas commended the US Government for the assistance and support it continues to give to Jamaica, citing areas such as HIV/AIDS prevention, education, human rights, and longstanding programmes administered through USAID and the US Peace Corps.
He also noted the support provided to the Caribbean region under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).
Ambassador Thomas pointed out that a significant portion of the Diaspora has made the US their home, “cementing the bonds between our people beyond the formal level of engagement”.
Pope celebrates open – air Mass in Cuba
[BBC] – Pope Francis has celebrated Mass in front of tens of thousands of people in the Cuban capital Havana, on his first visit to the Communist-ruled island.
President Raul Castro, who is not a Catholic, attended the event in city’s iconic Revolution Square. The Pope may also meet the leader’s brother and predecessor, Fidel Castro.
Pope Francis, who is at the start of his Cuba and US trip, has been credited with helping the recent thaw in diplomatic ties between both countries.
After his arrival on Saturday, he hailed improving ties between the two countries as “an example of reconciliation for the whole world”. But he also urged both Cuba and the US to “persevere on the path” of detente.
Security services were seen arresting at least three people who were shouting and attempting to distribute flyers at the edge of Revolution Square as the Mass got under way.
On his way to the service Pope Francis stopped to greet some of the thousands who had come out to see him. During his homily he said that “Christians are constantly called to set aside their own wishes and desires, their pursuit of power, and to look instead to those who are most vulnerable”.
He made no reference to the US-Cuban rapprochement, but did speak about the Colombian peace talks, which are taking place in Havana.
He warned the Colombian government and leftist Farc rebels that they could not allow “another failure” in the negotiations, which have been running for three years.
The Mass marked the first time Cubans have been addressed in their mother tongue of Spanish by a Pope – Francis is the first to hail from Latin America. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, president of the Pope’s native Argentina, also attended.
Pope Francis is also scheduled to meet Raul Castro in a formal meeting, and possibly his 89-year-old brother Fidel too.
“If it happens, it will happen (Sunday). And we’ll get you the necessary information,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told journalists on Saturday.
It is not clear to what extent – if any – Pope Francis will address in public the issue of political freedom with either Raul or his brother, says the BBC’s Julian Miglierini in Havana.
The Pope praised improved co-operation between the Cuban government and the Church on Saturday, but called for the Church in Cuba to have “the freedom and the means” to pursue its mission.
Both his predecessors, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, visited the island during their papacy. Francis’s trip will later take him to the US, which he will also be visiting for the first time since his election.
Ref Tariq Mohammed. The Trinidadian student detained and imprisoned in Saudi Arabia as a suspected terrorist.
I suggest the spouse and relatives of the Trinidad And Tobago government, petition the Saudi King to arrange for his release expeditiously.
I am not aware of the circumstances surrounding his arrest and imprisonment. But only what is published here in the news.