Manama: A Saudi national has been banned from entering the US for five years after airport officers found pictures of hunting trips on his mobile.
“The Saudi was visiting his family in the United States regarding his admission in an American university,” a source told Saudi news site Sabq. “When he arrived at George W. Bush International Airport, he was searched by the officers who found pictures of hunting trips on his mobile.”
In another incident, a Saudi national who was accompanying a relative who had to undergo medical treatment in US, was questioned “for some time” over a picture of Iraqi former president Saddam Hussain on his mobile, according Sabq.
“When he arrived at the airport, an officer asked him to switch the language application on his mobile from Arabic to English,” an unnamed source told Sabq. When the officer found a picture of Saddam Hussain on his mobile, he was questioned for some time before he and his relative were allowed to enter the country.”
In September, the Saudi cultural attaché in Washington said that US immigration authorities had cancelled the education visas of 60 Saudi students.
Mohammad Al Eisa said the students were found to be storing “immoral or violent pictures and videos” on their phones and laptops.
All Saudi students have been informed by the cultural mission about the new rules regarding banned material and told not to store any unethical, religious, violent and conflict-related pictures or videos on their mobiles, he added.
The Saudi interior ministry also warned its citizens heading to the US to fully comply with the rules and regulations in order to guarantee their safety.
