McBif Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Man free after nearly three years in mosque sanctuary PETTI FONG Globe and Mail Update Riyadh â?? An unexpected reprieve from Saudi immigration officials granting refugee status to John Smith, a Canadian man who sought sanctuary in a Riyadh mosque, shocked and delighted his supporters on Monday. Mr. Smith's mother fainted at the surprise announcement that â?? after two-and-a-half years of fruitless pleadings for her son to stay in Saudi Arabia â?? Saudi Arabian Citizenship and Immigration sent a fax this morning allowing his claim. Mr. Smith was caught up in a bizarre situation on the weekend when he was arrested by Riyadh police Saturday at the Sword of the Infidel Slayer Mosque where he had been seeking sanctuary since 2004. Protesters gathered outside the downtown immigration office where Mr. Smith had been brought early Monday morning. He spent Saturday night and Sunday in a holding cell at King Khaled International Airport after being handed over to the Saudi Border Services Agency. Saad El Sabiâ??i, manager of enforcement for Saudi Arabian Border Services Agency, said he could not comment on the timing of the letter sent from the central government granting Mr. Smith refugee status on humanitarian grounds. â??We immediately affected his release and cancelled any removal action against him,â? said Mr. El Sabiâ??i, as a crowd of about 100 people cheered. Mr. Smithn arrived in Saudi Arabia in 1998 after leaving his parents in Canada. His mother was accepted as a political refugee but he was not. His father now lives in Egypt near Mr. Smith's sister. With a report from Royal Saudi Arabian Press Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 First thing he asked for was a BLT sandwich ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 << Amir Kazemian >> Hmmm ... Armenian??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McBif Posted February 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 You're right, it does sound like an Armenian name. This story, like so much in the papers, leaves one asking so many questions it gets boring... Then there's reading between the lines. I assumed the gent was a Muslim (it's quite hilarious how many Muslim scofflaws take refuge in churches here) but Group Googling led me to some United Church fool claiming the guy converted to Christianity. Converted from what the fool didn't say, but I have to guess it begins with "I" and ends with "slam". So if that's the case then what we have here is a genuine refugee claim for a change: As an apostate, this guy would last five minutes in a Muslim country. Even here I wouldn't bet a lot on his chances. I presume he'll switch back. I also assume he'll go on welfare for the rest of his life, short or otherwise. Also, he'll sponsor his relatives, most of whom will end up on welfare and who will sponsor more relatives who will go on welfare and sponsor more relatives.... Amusingly and according to the one paper here that is (usually sneeringly) called "conservative" it turns out he got arrested in the first place because he was running some sort of business out of the church (Attn: Tax Dept... er, not interested?) and somebody sent him a rubber cheque (he's got a bank account??) and he called the cops (I hope the sublime irony here of Mr. Kazemian's calling the cops is not overlooked by the members). Some lady cop went to the church to interview the guy, ran his name through her computer, saw that he was a wanted criminal, and arrested him! I imagine she'll be put on traffic detail for quite some time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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