VZCZCXRO3981
PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHJI #0382/01 1431006
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231006Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9186
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1394
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1472
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 6518
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000382 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR 
TSOU; DEPARTMENT FOR CA/EX, CA/OCS/ACS/NESA, NEA/ARP 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC PHUM SA
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION OF JEDDAH REFUGE CASE HIGHLIGHTS 
WEAKNESS OF INTERMINISTERIAL COMMITTEE 
 
REF: A. JEDDAH 61 
 
     ¶B. JEDDAH 117 
     ¶C. STATE 22041 
     ¶D. STATE 35770 
     ¶E. STATE 55143 
     ¶F. RIYADH 2309 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: Following the visit of A/S Harty to Saudi Arabia 
on May 13 and 14, high-level SAG attention to the refuge case 
of Rema Al Said, which had been languishing for over three 
months, resulted in a sudden flurry of negotiations between 
the Mission and representatives from the Interministerial 
Committee (IC).  After signing a statement on May 16 
relinquishing custody of her five children and guaranteeing 
her visitation rights, Al Said was granted a divorce from her 
husband on May 17 and departed early the next morning.  A 
last minute problem at the airport emigration office led to 
the personal intervention of the Deputy Minister of Interior 
Ahmed Al Salem, demonstrating the SAG's heightened interest 
in the case in the run-up to the May 18 meeting of the 
US-Saudi Strategic Dialogue between the Secretary and FM 
Prince Saud Al Faisal.  The ultimately successful resolution 
of the case, however, provided no assurances that the IC has 
been sufficiently empowered to guarantee the basic right of 
women to travel freely in the future. END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  Al Said came to ConGen Jeddah on February 6 seeking 
refuge and assistance in leaving Saudi Arabia (reftels A, B, 
and C).  She alleged that her husband had subjected her to 
severe psychological abuse, that he had beaten her in the 
past, and that he continued to threaten her with physical 
abuse.  She had asked for a divorce and permission to leave 
Saudi Arabia, but he had refused.  On February 8, Embassy 
Riyadh sent an urgent Diplomatic Note to the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (MFA) requesting that Al Said be issued an 
exit visa to return to the US.  On March 5, A/S Harty sent a 
letter to the IC urging the issuance of Al Said's exit visa 
as expeditiously as possible (reftel D).  On April 8, the 
Secretary sent a letter to FM Prince Saud Al Faisal, 
 
SIPDIS 
requesting his personal assistance in resolving the matter 
(reftel E).  Nevertheless, efforts to secure Al Said's 
departure from Saudi Arabia had stalled. 
 
-------------------------------- 
A/S' VISIT SPURS SAG INTO ACTION 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  Al Said was one of two American women granted refuge a 
Mission facilities pending SAG action on USG reqests that 
they be issued exit visas to depart th Kingom and return to 
the US.  A/S Harty addresed these cases in a series of 
meetings with SAG fficials on May 13 to 14.  As a result of 
the metings, the SAG proposed that Al Said sign a statement 
relinquishing custody of her children, while securing her 
full visitation rights in the future, in order to resolve 
divorce and custody proceedings commenced by her husband in 
early April, which had languished in sharia court for the 
intervening six weeks.  IC representatives were subsequently 
dispatched to Jeddah to meet with Al Said and her estranged 
husband, Mohammed bin Ishaq Al Mekhy. 
 
¶4.  Throughout the day on May 15, consular staff were in 
contact with IC representatives, who said they were having 
difficulty finding Al Mekhy despite repeated calls to his 
home.  During one discussion, the IC representative from the 
MFA explained that he had told Al Mekhy's mother that he had 
until the end of the day to meet with them and to turn over 
Al Said's Jordanian passport, which she had used to enter the 
country.  After that point, the IC threatened to involve the 
police. NOTE: It is unclear whether the police ultimately 
became involved in transferring the passport from Al Mekhy to 
the IC or if the MFA representative was simply trying to 
demonstrate to the Mission the seriousness with which the SAG 
had begun treating the issue. END NOTE 
 
--------------------------------- 
SAG REQUESTS STATEMENT ON CUSTODY 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Later on May 15, following the recovery of Al Said's 
passport and lengthy meetings with Jeddah Governor Prince 
Mishaal bin Majid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, IC representatives 
met with Riyadh Deputy Consul General, Conoff, and Al Said to 
discuss the contents of the proposed statement.  Lasting into 
the early hours of May 16, these negotiations yielded a draft 
 
JEDDAH 00000382  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
acceptable to all parties, and Al Said signed the statement. 
(NOTE: The official English translation of the letter follows 
below.)  IC representatives provided assurances that the 
letter would allow for Al Said's expeditious divorce and 
indicated that she would thus be granted immediate exit 
permission as she would no longer have sponsorship to remain 
in the country. 
 
¶6.  Al Said's statement was presented to the sharia court on 
May 16.  Per the request of the officiating judge, Al Said 
appeared in court on May 17 to recount the contents of the 
statement, to verify that she had not been coerced into 
signing it, and to confirm that she wanted a divorce.  The 
divorce was granted within hours.  Upon leaving the court, IC 
representatives presented her with her Jordanian passport, 
which contained a final exit permit. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
HIGH-LEVEL INTERVENTION NEEDED TO CLEAR LAST MINUTE HURDLE 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶7.  Al Said was scheduled to leave in the early morning of 
May 18.  However, upon proceeding through emigration control 
at the airport, she was taken to secondary emigration 
processing, ostensibly to file the appropriate paperwork for 
a final exit.  She and the accompanying consular staff were 
assured that this was routine.  Shortly before her flight, 
the emigration supervisor suddenly announced that she would 
be unable to exit the country because the computer system 
indicated that she was still married and did not have the 
required exit permission. 
 
¶8.  After repeated attempts to contact IC representatives, 
Conoff was able to speak by phone to Deputy Minister of the 
Interior Ahmed Al Salem, who overrode the airport officials 
and secured an entirely new set of airlines reservations for 
Al Said within 30 minutes.  She departed Saudi Arabia at 
3:00am on May 18 and arrived in the US later that day. 
 
¶9.  COMMENT: Given that Al Said's case was only solved 
following the direct intervention of the Secretary, A/S 
Harty, the SAG FM, the SAG Minister of the Interior, and, at 
the final moment, the SAG Deputy Minister of the Interior, 
the IC's efficacy has been called into question in spite of 
the case's successful resolution.  In contrast to the MFA's 
continued assertions that the IC was established specifically 
to expedite such cases, there are continuing indications that 
it does not have the bureaucratic muscle to ensure the basic 
right of women to depart freely from the country (see reftel 
F). 
 
--------------------------------- 
TEXT OF REMA AL SAID'S STATEMENT 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  I, Rima F. M. Al Said, holding Jordanian passport number 
I305607, issued in Jeddah, hereby certify that I am competent 
and sane and legally agree to give up my rights to the 
custody of my five children to their father, Mohammed bin 
Ishaq Al Mekhy, Saudi national, in exchange for getting my 
divorce legally from him, provided he will continually allow 
me to call them and visit them whenever I wish.  In the case 
of his death, the custody of my children will be transferred 
to me to live with them in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and 
to all the above I sign, Rima F.M. Al Said. 
Gfoeller