Saudi Arabia

Saudi Citizen Kidnapped in Lebanon

The Saudi embassy yesterday said in a statement that a Saudi citizen had been kidnapped in Lebanon.

The Saudi embassy in Beirut said it “is in contact with the Lebanese security authorities at the highest levels in order to release unconditionally the kidnapped Saudi citizen as soon as possible.”

Officials said that Syrian citizen, Ivine Hassan, informed police that her Saudi husband, Ali Shamrawi, had been missing since Thursday night.

The Saudi man lives in Lebanon. It was not clear if the kidnapping was related to rising tensions between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia because of last week’s resignation of Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri.

Some local TV stations said Shamrawi’s family had received a call from unknown persons demanding a ransom of $1 million in exchange for Shamrawi’s release.

M. AMEEN

Mohammed Ameen is an expatriate blogger who loves sharing his experiences of living and working in the Gulf countries.