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Kelvin
Hawkins was a bar owner in Riyadh until he
was arrested .
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Another
Car Bomb
Kelvin Hawkins once ran the popular Celtic Corner
in Riyadh. He says the idea of a war among the pub
owners - most of whom were personal friends - was
unbelievable. "There was no turf war at all...if
anybody ran out of alcohol then the other bars would
help out. It was purely a social scene, there was
no animosity at all."
Hawkins
himself was swept away by the Saudi justice system
when four patrons left his bar in a booby trapped
Jeep only six days after the Christopher Rodway
incident. Nobody died this time, partly because
Belgian paramedic Raaf Schyvens was nearby and administered
first aid until the police arrived.
Hawkins
was accused of making the bomb and thrown in prison.
That's where he confessed to knowing Bill Sampson
and the other Westerners. But he was relatively
lucky and was released a year later.
A Death Sentence
But seven other foreigners, including Bill Sampson
and the Belgian paramedic, weren't so fortunate.
There was a trial they couldn't attend, evidence
they never heard and finally a sentence. Eight years
for Schyvens, the paramedic and death by beheading
for Sampson and a Scot named Sandy Mitchell.
Read
more about the Saudi justice system.
For
the past two years Bill Sampson has been living
in Al Hayer prison in a white, padded cell with
fluorescent lights blazing overhead awaiting his
death sentence.
See photos of a re-created
Saudi prison cell
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Bill
Sampson's appearance shocked his family.
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William
Sampson, a cousin living near Liverpool, England
has been lobbying the British and Canadian governments
to help have him released. "I was absolutely
stunned when I first saw him on TV. The bags under
his eyes looked like he hadn't sleep in a month."
The family fears for his health. There have been
reports that - like so many others - Bill Sampson
has been tortured. A 42 year old rugged outdoorsman,
he has already had two cardiac episodes in the Saudi
prison.
A
Visit with his Son
" Six months after his arrest, James Sampson
was allowed a visit with his son, "He looked
terrible, he looked like hell." The two men
calmly discussed family matters determined not to
let the Saudis see their fear. "What could
I do, upset him more by seeing me break down? What
did he want to do, break down in front of the guards?
No, they haven't managed to do it yet...and he isn't
going to allow a visit by his father break him down."
More...Bill
Sampson's adventures in Saudi Arabia
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