Saudi authorities arrested Shia citizen Jawad Ali Hussain Al-Abdulrudha (39 years) from Mubbaraz, Al-Hasa, without any official charges or reasons.
It is believed that the reason for the arrest of al-Rida in the Dammam airport upon arrival from The Islamic Republic of Iran is carrying Shia religious books which are not allowed to be brought into Saudi Arabia.
Such cases fall usually in the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Information but that the escalation of sectarian discrimination by Saudi authorities against Shia resulted in the referral of the detainee to the General Investigation Department as observers say.
Jawad spent nearly six months without being allowed to be visited by his family except only recently.
His relatives fear that Jawad operating a small firm of religious tourism would be an introduction to charge him politically because of his repeated visit to the holy shrines in Iran.
The authorities in Saudi Arabia are applying a tough policy against the circulation of books dealing with the Shia doctrine. They are considered atheism and juggling books and punish acquisition, cross-border passing with imprisonment and flogging.
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