Most Saudi terror suspects disown deviant thoughts

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia said that 90 per cent of those who have been detained for holding "deviant thoughts" have reformed and announced their repentance.

Shaikh Saleh Bin Ganim Al Sadlan, member of the interior ministry ad hoc committee assigned to give counselling to extremist detainees, said that Saudi Arabia is planning to allow the detainees to return back to their studies or work after being set free.

At the end of 2005, Saudi Arabia announced it had released nearly 400 detainees held for security reasons after providing them with intense counselling and making sure they were free of deviant thoughts.

But authorities emphasised that they would not set free those militants arrested for taking part in terrorist attacks across the country.

Joint effort

Saudi Arabia is exerting efforts to combat terrorism. In February 2005 it convened an international conference on terrorism and called the international community to establish an international centre for fighting terrorism.

The Saudi interior ministry's counselling programme aims to provide advice to those held in connection with security incidents that had taken place in the country in recent years.

A number of prominent scholars, intellectuals, social scientists and psychiatrists are taking part in the programme which offers counselling to the arrested people and providing them with the right information concerning wrong beliefs.

In press statements yesterday, Al Sadlan pointed out that whoever will be set free will receive all care from the government.

"Those who did not have a job will be given a job and those who have been working or studying will be returned back to their jobs or study," he added.