Speech Against Oppression Results in Bloody Saudi Beat Down

A renowned Canadian Shia imam who travelled to Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage has been arrested in Medina after being beaten, witnesses say. The Canadian government confirmed the arrest on Sunday and a spokesman with the foreign affairs department said its embassy in Riyadh was prepared to provide diplomatic assistance. A Shia Rights Watch represenetive was in Madina on that time and met with lawyers in order to give support to Al-Atar.

The Canadian foreign office gave no further information, citing privacy concerns.According to news reports, Usama al-Atar was with an international group that travelled to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and was leading a prayer recitation at a cemetery on Sunday when witnesses said he was confronted by officers from the country’s religious police. CTV reported that officers beat him without provocation, chasing and suffocating him in front of more than 200 witnesses.

The officers then reportedly took him into custody without explanation. Michael Hayward, a British citizen, described the assault to CTV: “He was bleeding quite a lot from the beating. They put his head to an air conditioning unit and sat on him until he was blue in the face.” Hayward told the Toronto Star that police “virtually strangled” al-Atar even though the imam did not put up a fight.

After Saudi police released al-Atar, Shia rights watch represenetive met him in Mecca and spoke about his situation in Madina and Mecca.