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Prince Charles Winds Up Saudi Visit After Talks On Detained Briton
RIYADH, Feb 18 (News Agencies) - Britain's Prince Charles on Sunday wound up a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia during which he held talks with Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and raised the case of a Briton detained in the kingdom.
On what was termed a "cultural" visit, the Prince of Wales took part in a prize-giving ceremony of the King Faisal awards for literary and scientific achievement as well as an art exhibition including 35 of his own water colors.
The joint exhibition also showcased the paintings of Saudi Prince Khalid al-Faisal.
In his talks with Crown Prince Abdullah, Charles raised the case of Briton Alexander Mitchell who has been arrested in connection with two Riyadh car bombings, a spokeswoman for the heir to the British throne said Friday.
Human rights campaigners had been urging him to intervene after Mitchell went on Saudi television earlier this month to apparently admit masterminding a bombing campaign last November.
Mitchell faces being publicly beheaded if he is found guilty, and human rights campaigners have branded his confession "forced" and a "show trial".
The confession by Mitchell, who was living and working in Riyadh at a military hospital, related to the car bombing that killed fellow Briton Christopher Rodway, a 47-year-old engineer, on November 17th.
Mitchell, who made his television confession along with a Canadian and a Belgian, also said he had been involved in a car blast on November 22nd which injured three Britons, one seriously, and an Irishwoman.
Al-Hayat, a London-based Saudi paper, pointed out that Prince Charles had inquired "about the situation of the accused Briton without intervening on his behalf."
The inquiry from Prince Charles, who was making his first visit to Saudi Arabia where he has close friendships with several royals, was "of a personal nature and not an official one," a British embassy official added.
A total of 12 expatriates, including several other Britons, are under arrest in Saudi Arabia for an apparent turf war between rival gangs of alcohol smugglers in the kingdom, where alcohol is strictly banned under Islamic laws.
A Saudi source said the fact that Prince Charles had gone ahead with the visit "shows that the Mitchell affair and that of other detained Britons has not had an impact on the good relations between London and Riyadh."
At a banquet on Friday night, Prince Charles dined with dozens of Saudi officials and business leaders, including Baker bin Laden whose brother, Osama bin Laden has taken refuge in Afghanistan.
The Bin Laden group, founded half a century ago, is one of the largest construction firms in Saudi Arabia.
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