Scot who says Saudis forced bomb confession wins right to sue

Published on Friday 29 October 2004 00:05

A SCOTTISH member of the group who won the right to sue their alleged Saudi torturers accused the British government yesterday of placing commerce before the welfare of its citizens.

Sandy Mitchell was speaking after the Court of Appeal in London overturned a ruling that the group could not sue the Saudi government or its operatives on the grounds of state immunity. The appeal judges upheld the ruling that the men could not sue the Saudi state, but the men won the right to sue individual alleged torturers.

Mr Mitchell said:

"I think what it comes down to is that commerce with Saudi Arabia is more important than human rights," he said. "Our government knows we’re innocent, but rather than risk offending the Saudis, they forced us to take legal action."

Mr Mitchell, from Glasgow, said he was disappointed that the British government had "allowed the Saudi government to hide behind state immunity for so long" and "not condemned Saudi for what they did to us".

Mr Mitchell and Les Walker, from the Wirral, and a British-Canadian, Bill Sampson, who lives in Penrith, Cumbria, allege that they were forced by torture to confess to carrying out a bombing campaign in 2000.

The Saudi government has denied using any violence in gaining confessions.

Mr Mitchell said the court decision was the first step in finally exposing the regime’s methods.

"We’re going all the way with this, not just for ourselves but other torture survivors," he said yesterday. "We have shown the Saudis for what they are, and eventually we will expose the British government for what it is."

In the past, Mr Mitchell has said of his alleged treatment: "The pain was excruciating to the point where dying was preferable to living."