According to recent reports in the Saudi press, the Saudi Interior Ministry has released 11 prisoners who participated in its Munasaha program, a counseling and guidance program for security prisoners established by the ministry in 2003 with the intent of encouraging them to renounce their extremist beliefs.[1] A spokesman for the Prince Muhammad bin Naif Counseling and Care Center, where the Munasaha program takes place, said that the released prisoners would participate in a follow-up program geared toward their emotional rehabilitation and reintegration in society.[2]
At the same time, the media reported that two Saudi Al-Qaeda operatives, Jaber Al-Fayfi and Bader Al-Shihri, had been extradited to Saudi Arabia – the former from Yemen and the latter from Pakistan – having requested to return to their homeland. According to the reports, Al-Fayfi, a former Guantanamo detainee, had participated in the Munasaha program after his release from the American prison, but had later rejoined Al-Qaeda. He now surrendered himself to the Saudi authorities by contacting the Counseling and Care Center directly and asking to return to the country.[3]
Following these reports, several editorials appeared in the Saudi press which described the extradition of Al-Fayfi and Al-Shihri as a sign of Al-Qaeda's weakening, and as a mark of the success of Saudi policy in the war on terrorism, including the Interior Ministry's Munasaha program. In contrast, several Saudi columnists leveled criticism at the program, claiming that Saudi Arabia is showing excessive leniency toward extremists who surrender to the authorities, and is needlessly rewarding them for their "repentance" – especially considering that many of them eventually return to terrorism.
The following article are several reactions to the issue:
Wanted Saudi Terrorists Turn Themselves In to Authorities
On October 15, 2010, Jaber Al-Fayfi, an Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operative and one of 85 Saudis wanted for terrorism, turned himself over to the Saudi authorities after having contacted the Muhammad bin Naif Counseling and Care Center. In a conversation with a center representative, he expressed remorse over his past actions and the desire to turn himself in and return home to Saudi Arabia, saying that the Saudis who had joined Al-Qaeda had been led astray by the organization. After the Saudi government and Yemeni security authorities coordinated his return, Al-Fayfi was extradited to Saudi Arabia.
A statement released by Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Al-Turki on the day of the extradition stated that after his release from Guantanamo, Al-Fayfi had joined the counseling program, but had then rejoined Al-Qaeda, like many other Saudis who had been lured in by the organization. Al-Turki called on these Saudis to recognize the evil of their ways and surrender to the authorities, assuring them that if they do so it will "be taken into account when their cases are reviewed."[4]
In a similar case, Bader Al-Shihri, another Saudi wanted for ties to Al-Qaeda, who was apparently active in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, likewise surrendered to the Saudi authorities. Mansour Al-Turki said that the cases of Al-Fayfi, Al-Shihri, and numerous other Saudi terrorists who had turned themselves in of their own volition indicated a rising level of awareness and understanding of the deceptive methods employed by Al-Qaeda vis-à-vis its operatives.[5]
Guantanamo Returnee Gets a Sumptuous Wedding Party
On October 13, 2010, the Saudi daily Al-Watan reported on the nuptials of Khaled 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Ju'aid, who was released from Guantanamo in 2003 along with many other Saudis. According to the daily, upon his release Al-Ju'aid joined the Munasaha program at the Counseling and Care Center, but was allowed to go home for holidays and family events. He was released from the center last Ramadan, after his rehabilitation was pronounced "very successful."
On October 27, 2010 a sumptuous wedding ceremony was arranged for him, attended by Interior Ministry officials who presented him with a special bonus of 250,000 riyals from Prince Muhammad bin Naif, and with a "gift" from the center. The wedding was also attended by some of Al-Ju'aid's fellow prisoners, whose situation, the report said, improved considerably after they participated in the Munasaha program.
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The report added that Al-Ju'aid's family thanked Prince Muhammad bin Naif at the wedding for returning their son to them, and for seeing to all his needs and helping him resume a normal life. Preacher 'Abdallah Al-Sukhairi, who also attended, condemned the "aberrant ideology" and called on all those present to defend the security of their homeland.[6]
Khaled Al-Ju'aid leaving the wedding hall
The Extremists Deserve to Be Punished, Not Rewarded
Columnist Jamil Al-Thiyabi condemned the Saudi policy of granting pardons and other rewards to extremists who claim to change their views. In an article in the London-based daily Al-Hayat, he wrote: "...Since King 'Abdallah announced [he would] pardon activists from the aberrant [i.e., extremist] groups, on the condition that they turn themselves in and return to the straight and narrow, a large number of prisoners have been released, after the Interior Ministry found their behavior to have improved.
"But [we know that] persons wanted for security reasons and prisoners released from Guantanamo Prison, who were emotionally and socially rehabilitated and received special guidance at the Muhammad bin Naif Counseling and Care Center, returned to Al-Qaeda and later turned themselves in again, as in the cases of Muhammad Al-'Awfi and Jaber Al-Fayfi... Unfortunately, some of the [extremists] saw this pardon as weakness [on the part of the Saudi authorities]... and therefore lied and exploited it. And thus, after [they went through] the counseling and their situation improved, they were released – [only] to return to Al-Qaeda, to [operations of] planting bombs against the state and terrorizing people. This matter demands an inquiry, under careful consideration, into what caused [these prisoners to return to terrorism].
"Recently, two persons wanted for security reasons turned themselves in of their own volition: Bader Al-Shihri, [who returned] from Pakistan, and Jaber Al-Fayfi, [who returned] from Yemen. [Al-Fayfi] entered the counseling program after being released from Guantanamo Prison, but he escaped [from the Counseling and Care Center] and joined Al-Qaeda in Yemen along with his friend Al-Shihri, [and then repented once more upon realizing] the extent of the organization's deceitfulness and evil intentions, or so [he] claimed.
"The Saudi government has received these returnees, turning a blind eye to their errors, and has provided them with treatment, housing, and a respectable life. But there is a concern and a possibility that they might [betray] the homeland a third time, as did the suicide [bomber] 'Abdallah 'Asiri, who carried out the failed assassination attempt against Deputy Interior Minister Muhammad bin Naif, after purportedly showing remorse and changing his views. ['Asiri] refused the pardon he was offered in order to exchange it for the dagger of treason and deceit, until his body was [buried] in the hole he had dug [for his intended victim]...
"I am not opposed to the counseling program, since the [extremist] ideologies must be fought with [moderate] ideologies, but it is necessary to ensure that [the extremists] have [really] recovered from their criminal illnesses, so that they do not [continue to] pose a threat to those around them. [Moreover], I am opposed to the government pampering these criminals by supporting them with monthly payments, handling [their affairs], paying their marriage expenses, and providing them with special housing – and this is at the same time when other young Saudis suffer from unemployment and cannot find housing for themselves or their families...
"[The terrorists] must understand that the gates of forgiveness are not open wide and waiting for these honorable persons and their stories of how they were led astray, [just] so that [the state and its citizens] can demonstrate tolerance for their rejectionism, madness, and terrorism. They must understand that it is impossible to have a tolerant attitude toward someone who is himself intolerant... and that there can be no pardon for those who do not appreciate its [worth]... Whoever undermines the security of [Saudi] citizens deserves punishment rather than reward, encouragement, reeducation and [tolerance for his] excuse that he was led astray."[7]
The Counseling Program Is Unproductive
Similar statements were made by Saudi columnist Nasser Al-Sarami, who doubted the counseling program's efficacy and questioned the comfortable conditions and warm support to which participating extremists are treated. In an article in the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah he wrote: "How can [we] lodge terrorists in comfortable dormitories, with culture and sports programs, and then marry them off, find them work, and support them financially?! The [very] notion seems strange and even frightening to anyone who has been exposed to terrorism and its deeds. Moreover, how can a state that has been so greatly harmed [by terrorism] treat those called terrorists gently, [out of a wish to] seduce them [into renouncing terrorism]...
"[In the past few decades,] there have been 257 [acts of terror in Saudi Arabia], in which 67 [Saudis] were killed and 381 wounded. Among [foreign] residents, 257 were killed and 384 wounded. The damage to private and public property was [estimated at] over 600 million riyals – destruction of the economy being one of terrorism's primary goals – and the losses caused by [the decline in] investments both at home and abroad due to [terrorism] in the period between 2003 and 2008 have been estimated at some 30 billion riyals. Meanwhile, 180 million riyals have been budgeted to the counseling [program]. The notion is astounding even to progressive countries, [and] from the get-go seems to contradict [Saudi anti-terror policy]. Is it possible for a terrorist to be considered a victim, in light of the scale of the abovementioned loss?
"The report of the release of [11 former] participants in the [counseling program at] the Muhammad bin Naif Counseling and Care Center has renewed the [public] debate over the counseling [program's] effectiveness, in light of the return of past participants to their evil ways. Is it possible to cleanse [these terrorists] of beliefs that are deeply rooted in their minds? Are they victims of these beliefs, or champions [of these beliefs]? The truth is that the counseling program has repeatedly proven that the idea of violence and terrorism penetrates the brains of those who join [terrorist] organizations, just as a strong drug eclipses reason, rooting itself deeply within [their minds] and motivating their actions. Thus, their common sense is [usurped by] mechanical thoughts aimed at implementing that which is considered 'jihad' – a holy act which will lead to virgins of eternal Paradise..."[8]
[1] See Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.260, "Reeducation of Extremists in Saudi Arabia," January 18, 2006, Reeducation of Extremists in Saudi Arabia.
[2] Al-Hayat (Saudi Arabia), October 13, 2010.
[3] Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), October 16, 2010; October 20, 2010.
[4] Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), October 16, 2010.
[5] Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), October 20, 2010.
[6] Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), October 29, 2010.
[7] Al-Hayat (London), October 25, 2010.
[8] Al-Jazirah (Saudi Arabia), October 24, 2010.
