Kuwait asks Saudi Arabia to release Palestinian detainees
Kuwait is negotiating to secure the release of dozens of Hamas members who have spent months in Saudi Arabian prisons with no explanation provided.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Kuwait is handling the role of main mediator to secure the release of dozens of Hamas members arrested on Saudi soil, Kuwaiti and Palestinian sources told Al-Monitor.
One of those under arrest is Mohammad al-Khodari, who holds dual Kuwaiti-Palestinian nationality. In a statement released Sept. 9, Hamas said Saudi Arabia has been holding Khodari, 81, and his eldest son since April 4 without giving any reason. Mohammad al-Khodari has resided in Saudi Arabia since 1992, where he was in charge of coordinating bilateral relations between the kingdom and Hamas.
Hamas said in its statement that it “remained silent for five months to make way for diplomatic calls and mediators’ endeavors, but no results were reached.”
The Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor told the UN Human Rights Council this month that some Palestinians have been forcibly disappeared in Saudi Arabia and that dozens are being held there without legal support. The details of their arrests and detentions remain unknown.
