Manama: Authorities in Saudi Arabia on Sunday said they arrested three men in connection with the kidnapping of Shaikh Mohammad Abdullah Al Jirani, a prominent religious scholar.
The Shiite scholar was kidnapped last month by masked men in front of his house in Al Qatif in the Eastern Province.
Family members said that Al Jirani, a judge at the Endowments and Inheritance Department who at times clashed with members of the community over their negative attitudes towards the state, was forced into a car by three assailants as he was leaving his home in Tarut Island.
Saudi authorities had launched a massive manhunt following the kidnapping.
“Investigations into the case have led to the arrest of three people who were involved in the heinous crime,” the interior ministry said in a statement reported by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Sunday afternoon. The three suspects are Saudi nationals.
“They were tasked by the crime plotters to monitor the movements of the victim.”
The investigation also led to identifying three other suspects directly involved in the kidnapping, the ministry said.
The ministry in its statement called for the immediate release of Al Jirani and warned the suspects and accomplices whose names cannot be yet divulged for probe reasons against harming him.
Anyone with information that will lead to the arrest of a terrorist will be given one million Saudi Riyals (Dh979,297). The reward will be five million Saudi Riyals for information that could result in the arrest of more than one suspect while any information that could help prevent an act of terror would be mean a reward of seven million Saudi Riyals, the ministry said.
However, anyone who withholds information about terrorists or terror attacks would be considered an accomplice, the ministry warned.
The kidnapping of Al Jirani last month was widely condemned by other judges at his department, saying that it was a strange behaviour associated with gangs and criminals.
“I am shocked by what happened as we have never expected this to happen here,” Shaikh Hassan Al Saffar said. “This is a new attitude that reminds us of criminal gangs. I am confident the security authorities will be able to deal with it appropriately, and I call on all people to cooperate to help locate Shaikh Al Jirani.
Shaikh Mansour Al Salman said that the local community was in shock.
“We are not used to kidnappings, and we want to enjoy peace and stability,” he said, quoted by the daily.
Reports in Saudi Arabia said that his Al Jirani’s properties had been attacked on three occasions and that assailants had tried to burn down his house while his family was inside. Two family members suffered from inhaling smoke and two of the family cars were gutted in a fire.
In October, Al Jirani urged the residents of Al Qatif to donate money to the local community instead of sending it to Iran, Iraq or Lebanon, arguing that charity begins at home.
In August, he condemned the attacks on security men, saying that such aggressions amounted to acts of terrorism that could not be condoned no matter what the explanation or motive was.
