United in grief, citizens across Saudi condemn terror attack

May 30, 2015

Riyadh, May 30: In widespread condemnation across Saudi society, prominent citizens reacted strongly on Friday to yet another terror attack in which a suicide bomber blew himself up near a mosque in Damman leaving four people dead.

Governments and top officials from different countries have expressed their deep sorrow at the fresh suicide bombing that came exactly a week after a bomber killed 21 people and injured over 100 in a mosque in Qatif.

Reacting to the terror attack, Mohammed Alkhnessi, a member of the Shoura Council, said: "We really feel sorry for what happened today and last week exactly at the same time of prayer in the mosque; this is a deeply disturbing and destabilizing act of terror."

"The perpetrators of these terror attacks have only one agenda which is to disturb the peace, and I am sure they will never succeed as the government and security establishments are fully prepared to thwart and ready to follow up with the appropriate actions," he added.

He addd: "We have full faith in our security systems and administration to maintain peace and stability, and bring the perpetrators of such a heinous crime to book."

He maintained that IS, or the so-called Islamic State, once again took responsibility for the attack, which is disturbing, and it is time to stop the growing menace.

Sadaka Yehia Fadil, a senior member of the Shoura Council, told Arab News: "We are fighting terrorism and are part of an international coalition against the menace; in fact we are one of the most successful states fighting terrorism, dealing with all threats and very successfully thwarting any such attempt by extremists."

He added that the Ministry of Interior and security agencies are well prepared and handling the issues appropriately one after another.

He exuded confidence: "I am sure the perpetrators of the terror attack in Dammam will not be spared and the culprits will be arrested and punished sooner rather than later."

He underlined that there is need to identify patterns and apply pre-emptive tactics against such a ruthless act of terrorism aimed at disturbing the peace.

"We very strongly condemn the act of terror. Islam is a religion of peace and completely prohibits violence and extremism in the strongest words. Those involved in such activities are ill advised and wrongly informed on Islam. They cannot be Muslim — they are misled people with very wrong interpretations of Islam," he said.

Mohammad Al-Ameen Khatari, head of the Islamic Affairs Bureau in Madinah, also expressed deep anguish and sorrow over the killings in Dammam and expressed his deep sympathy and condolences to families of the victims of this heinous crime.

He said: "This terror attack is an attempt to continue the hate campaign by the perpetrators of terrorism and aims to destabilize this peaceful country by creating a sectarian divide. They will not succeed at all. We, the people, are with the state to ensure that.”

He added that all preachers at mosques across the Kingdom have strongly condemned the terrorist attack in the Eastern Province.

Saud M. Al-Suwaileh, who works with the Ministry of Finance as an economist and the former manager of the US-Saudi Business Council, told Arab News: "They are evil and simply trying to disturb peace by seeking attention; this is not going to happen and they will be punished."

He also blamed Iran for playing dirty games in the region by disturbing the peace.

"Our government is ready to thwart any such attempt," he said.

Affirming full faith in the security systems and the government, Zeyad Abdullah, a citizen, said the “state and its machinery is proactive to ensure safety and security. No matter who violates it, the culprits will be punished for sure. So let us all be one with the government to defeat terrorism.”

The Pakistan Ulema Council also condemned the terror act. Sheikh Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, president of the council, said: "This is a plan from external regional elements to destabilize peaceful coexistence in the Kingdom."

The council also pledged support to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman in the fight against terrorism.

The Kingdom of Bahrain denounced the Anoud Mosque terrorist attack, describing it as an act of cowards.

Notably, the government condemned the attacks as terrorism and Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh called the terror attack a “criminal” act against the “sons of the homeland.”

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

Comments