Saudi authorities arrested an American, after he got into a heated argument with security forces while performing Umrah in Mecca, according to his family’s lawyer, Agence France-Presse, on Sunday.
Mohamed Salem was taken into custody on Nov. 1 and then transferred to a maximum-security facility normally used to hold political prisoners and terrorist suspects, attorney Abdullah Mughnni from Michigan, where Salem resides, said by telephone.
Salem, a 63-year-old American of Yemeni descent, traveled to Saudi Arabia with two of his sons to perform Umrah in Mecca, according to Mughni, who is also a spokesman for the family.
While waiting in line to enter the Grand Mosque in Mecca, he got into a fierce argument with the security forces, who separated him from his two sons.
Then, two men who said they were from Libya approached him and asked what had happened.
“At this moment, Muhammad was furious, he was very angry. He gave vent to his feelings. He said, ‘If it weren’t for Mecca and Medina, we would have burned this country down,’ Mughni said, confirming the details of the incident through his conversation with the sons of Salem.
It turns out that the two people are nothing more than undercover agents. Salem was arrested next, according to Mughni.
Saudi authorities and the US embassy in Riyadh did not respond to a request for comment from AFP.
Mughni explained that the US embassy had provided Salem’s family with a list of lawyers who could work on his case, but none of them had yet agreed to take the case.
Salem’s relatives do not know whether Saudi authorities have charged him or not.
Salem’s family’s concern has increased since he was transferred to Dhahban Central Police Station, where Amnesty International has previously documented allegations of torture by electric shock and flogging, according to Agence France Presse.
Mughni said it was “terrible” to think Salem deserved harsh treatment.
He added that he wasn’t someone who had “really committed a crime.” “What he said was not a reflection of what he was about to do. He was angry,” she added.