MADINAH, 26 February 2008 — The family of Rabah ibn Ataya Al-Kihaly, a 40-year-old Saudi who was deported to Yemen by mistake last year, is now filing a complaint against the Passport Department in Riyadh and is seeking SR6 million in compensation.

Saud Al-Hujaili, the lawyer of the family, said Al-Kihaly, who is suffering from a psychological disorder, was deported from the Kingdom to Yemen by mistake as he failed to provide his ID to authorities in Riyadh when he was arrested.

The lawyer said the family could seek damages because the deportation had delayed treatment of Al-Kihaly’s condition.

A medical report from the General Hospital in Badr, a copy of which was obtained by Arab News, states that Al-Kihaly suffered from a psychiatric disorder. The Al-Kihaly family live in Al-Khaif, 110 kilometers from Madinah.

Saeed Al-Kihaly, a cousin of the victim, said no money would be enough compensation for the psychological stress his relative and his family had undergone.

“He went to Riyadh to receive some treatment since he suffers from a psychological disorder,” said Saeed. Initial reports said the man went to Riyadh to obtain government permission to marry a foreigner and that he had lost his ID on the trip.

In an interview with the daily Al-Riyadh in November after his repatriation, Al-Kihaly recounted how he was deported to Yemen without even so much as a background check to verify his claim that he was a Saudi citizen.

“Police stopped me at a checkpoint in Riyadh. I told them that I had lost my ID card and they released me,” he told Al-Riyadh. “I was later arrested by the Passport Department. They placed me in prison without questioning me. After one day, they deported me to Yemen.”

Not long after his trip to Riyadh, the family lost track of Al-Kihaly. Despite searching police cells and hospitals in Riyadh, there was no clue of where he was, said Saeed.

Later, the family received a call from a Saudi living in northern Yemeni town of Saada saying that he saw Al-Kihaly in a prison there.

“In the prison I met a Saudi citizen by the name of Ali Muhammad Al-Najrani,” he told Al-Riyadh.

“I told him my story and he managed to help me. He called some of his relatives in the Kingdom. They found my family through the telephone book.”

In a twist befitting a Kafka novel, Al-Kihaly was sent to prison on charges of illegally entering Yemen; he stayed there for three months. He was deported from Saudi Arabia on Aug. 11, 2007.

“I spent eight days in Yemen going back and forth between Saada where he was imprisoned and Sanaa, the capital, where the Saudi Embassy is located,” said Saeed.

While in Yemen, Al-Kihaly said, the locals sympathized with him but offered little help. He said that Yemeni border officers detained him for two days after his deportation. On the day he was released Yemeni security officers, who suspected that he was an insurgent because he couldn’t produce any identification, arrested him again.

Al-Kihaly said it was an enormous relief when he was finally able to get back home, but that he feels betrayed by his own government.

“I thank God that I am back with my family and friends,” he said. “I think I need treatment in a specialized hospital and I wish to have a house and family one day.”