Mangaluru youth, jailed in Saudi Arabia for carrying tablets, walks free

Mangaluru, Feb 9: A 35-year-old man from Ullal in Mangaluru taluk, who had landed in a jail in Saudi Arabia after being detained at Dammam international airport for carrying a six-month stash of his epilepsy medicines without a doctor's prescription four months ago, has finally walked free.

Siyabuddin Fayaz Ullal, who was released on February 6, thanked all those who toiled for his release including the activists of Indian Social Forum (ISF).

On October 3, Siyabuddin boarded a flight from Mangaluru to Dammam. From there, he was to head for Riyadh, where he had worked for several years. This time, however, he was going to Riyadh after a break. He had come to Mangaluru to get married and had stayed on for over a year.

Siyabuddin was carrying with him his medicines for epilepsy, a condition he had suffered from for about 16 years. The tablets – Zeptol CR (Carbamazepine) 1200 mg and Cloba (Lobazam) 10mg – were enough to last him six months (they came cheaper in India).

But unlike his many other trips to Riyadh from India, at Dammam he was detained for carrying the medicines without a doctor's prescription. He was charged with smuggling.

His family had then approached U T Khader, the minister for Food and Civil Supplies, who in turn got in touch with Arathi Krishna, the deputy chairman of the NRI Forum in the state government. Ms Krishna had then sent the details of the case to the embassy officials.

Meanwhile, a relative of Siyabuddin had gone to Riyadh and submitted the requisite documents, mainly the doctor's prescription, which stated that he suffered from complex partial seizures and was carrying six months' worth of medicines from India.