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VIDEO: Pope Francis lands to cheers in US September 22, 2015
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VIDEO: Lesbos struggles as 4,000 arrive daily September 22, 2015
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VIDEO: Refugee crisis: Food and phone charging September 22, 2015
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VIDEO: On the ground at refugee hotspots September 22, 2015
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VIDEO: A guide to strange initiation ceremonies September 22, 2015
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– CANADIAN IMAM USAMA AL-ATAR DETAINED IN SAUDIA
A renowned Canadian Shiaa Imam Usama Al-Atar who travelled to Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage has been arrested, on Sunday 10/30/2011, in Medina after allegedly being beaten, witnesses said.
The Canadian government confirmed the arrest on Sunday and a pokesman with the foreign affairs department said its embassy in Riyadh was prepared to provide diplomatic assistance. 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 the 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, told the Toronto Star that police “virtually strangled” Usama Al-Atar even though the imam did not put up a fight.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Usama Al-Atar was accused of attacking Saudi religious police and remains in police custody. Saudi police have not confirmed the charges or his detention, the CBC reported.
Usama Al-Atar, who studies cancer research at the University of Alberta, is an outspoken Shiaa Muslim leader and founder of Active Muslim Youth of British Columbia, a not-for-profit organisation that teaches youth about Islam.
The London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission was quoted by the Toronto Star as saying that Usama Al-Atar was “manhandled” and the group demanded Saudi authorities release him immediately.
A Saudi-led force of Gulf Co-operation Council troops was deployed to Bahrain’s capital Manama to crack down on the mostly Shiaa-led anti-government protests (see – Saudi-Move).
Usama Al-Atar has a pregnant wife and a three-year-old child in Canada, according to reports.
* Related topics ;
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10/2011 –SUNNI-SHIAA CLASHES IN EASTERN SAUDIA ARABIA
09/2011 -THE INGREDIENTS OF THE MIDDLE EAST
11/2010 –IRANIAN INTEREST IN AL QAEDA
2008 –ABYSS iN ISLAM
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