SAUDIS SENTENCED ME TO CRUCIFIXION

SAUDIS SENTENCED ME TO CRUCIFIXION, SAYS FREED BRITON

Sun Sep 07 2003 12:06:33 ET

A man who faced a death sentence in Saudi Arabia over his alleged part in a bombing campaign describes how he was tortured.

Sandy Mitchell - who was among six Britons and a Belgian national freed from jail last month after being granted clemency by Saudi's King Fahd - says he suffered brutal torture when being forced to confess to a car bombing.

In an interview with BBC's Frontline program, Mitchell, from Kirkintilloch near Glasgow, describes the beatings which he claims led him to sign false confessions.

He also reveals that he was sentenced to be partially beheaded then fixed to an X-shaped cross in public view!

He says: "The beatings started with punching, kicking and spitting and eventually progressed to hitting me with sticks.

"They had this axe handle and I was beaten on the soles of my feet."

Mr Mitchell, 44, was accused of being part of a bombing campaign linked to an underground turf war over the selling of illegal alcohol in Riyadh.

He and William Sampson, originally from Glasgow, faced public execution for allegedly masterminding a plan behind a car bomb attack which killed fellow Briton Christopher Rodway.

Four other ex-patriates, James Cottle from Manchester, Peter Brandon from Cardiff, Les Walker from the Wirral and James Patrick Lee were serving 12-year sentences.

They were all arrested in December 2000 and a few months later Mr Sampson and Mr Mitchell were seen confessing to the bombing campaign on Saudi state television.

Mr Mitchell, who has always maintained his innocence and who has retracted his confession, is now considering his next moves in the fight to clear his name.

Developing...

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