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Saudi Tied to bin Laden Turns Himself In Under
Amnesty Offer
By REUTERS
Published: July 14, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/14/international/middleeast/14saud.html?th
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, July 13 - A Saudi suspected of being a member of
Al Qaeda, who had appeared on a videotape with Osama bin Laden, was
flown back to the kingdom from Iran after he surrendered under a
government amnesty, state television said Tuesday.
Khaled al-Harbi, also known as Abu Suleiman al-Makki, had been living in
the wild lands along the Iranian-Afghan border and had contacted the
Saudi Embassy in Tehran in response to the amnesty offer.
Television showed Mr. Harbi, heavily bearded and in a wheelchair, being
carried off a plane on arrival in the kingdom with his family. It did
not say when he surrendered or returned to Saudi Arabia.
A Saudi security official said Mr. Harbi was the man seen talking with
Mr. bin Laden, himself a Saudi, on a videotape in which the two praised
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He said Mr. Harbi had fought in Afghanistan
and Bosnia.
"He is big in the sense that he is one of the Saudis that were close to
bin Laden," the security official said, adding that Mr. Harbi had no
role in a rash of militant attacks in Saudi Arabia over the past year,
for which Al Qaeda claimed responsibility.
Mr. Harbi was the third person to surrender since Saudi Arabia announced
on June 23 a one-month amnesty aimed primarily at militants who had
attacked Westerners, government targets and energy sites in the world's
biggest oil exporter.
"I came in obedience to God and the ruler," Mr. Harbi told Saudi
television. "There is no doubt that this is a gracious initiative by
King Fahd and his crown prince."
"There is no doubt this is an opportunity which every wise man who has
faith in his heart should take advantage of and return to this country,"
he added.
Iran said Mr. Harbi was repatriated at his own request.
The Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement that Mr. Harbi did not
have any official documents when he arrived at the Saudi Embassy in
Tehran. The mission had issued the necessary papers for him and his
family to fly them home "after coordination with Iranian authorities,"
the statement said.
The ministry said Mr. Harbi had been in the Iranian-Afghan border region
and had contacted the Saudi Embassy in Iran, "expressing his readiness
to take advantage of the royal amnesty." It said he would be taken
directly to the hospital.
The security official said Mr. Harbi was not among Al Qaeda militants
from Saudi Arabia who are believed to be in Iranian custody.
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