Saudi Arabia to file compensation claim against France after citizen’s arrest

Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s embassy in France said that it will file a compensation claim after the French police detained a Saudi citizen at Paris International Airport and subjected him to ill-treatment, local media from the gulf country reported on Sunday.

According to the Arabic channel Al Ekhbariya TV, the Saudi ambassador to Paris, Fahd Al Ruwaili stated that the embassy’s lawyer was assigned to file a claim for compensation for what happened to Saudi citizen Khaled Al Otaibi in terms of material and moral damages.

These measures will be taken under the leadership and coordination with the Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On December 8, 2021, Khaled Al-Otaibi was arrested on suspicion in the case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. The French security authorities released Al-Otaibi after realizing that he was wrongfully detained.

In a TV interview with Al Ekhbariya, Al Otaibi said he was treated very badly. “They detained me in a filthy room of which the walls were stained with blood, where I could neither take rest nor sleep,” he said.