JEDDAH, 2 November 2004 — Saudi fugitive Naif Lafi Al-Mutairi, who is wanted by police on several assault charges, is now trying to become reconciled with his family after the death yesterday of his mother, the family matriarch.

Arab News reported yesterday on the Al-Mutairi family’s ordeal at the hands of their drug-addicted relative. Naif escaped arrest on Sunday when police knocked on his door in an attempt to arrest him. When police arrived, however, Naif refused to come down or open the door. The police were reluctant to go upstairs and get him because he had a gun and there were no other males in the house who could allow the police in. The officers also wanted to speak to him in order to determine why, at gunpoint, he was preventing his siblings and other members of the household from entering the house which was owned by his mother who has now died.

“Our mother and grandmother died this morning at the hospital. We called Naif and told him that she was dead. He was completely shattered, sobbed on the telephone and then disappeared for a few hours,” his nephew told Arab News. The family was afraid to bring the body home to be prepared for burial as they were afraid Naif would come and hijack the corpse. “We wanted to make sure our mother was buried in Makkah,” his sister told Arab News.

As a result, the family decided not to bring the body back to the family home. “My grandmother wanted to be brought home after her death and to be prepared for burial here but because of my crazy uncle, we had to leave her in the hospital for eight hours,” one of the woman’s grandsons said.

Members of the Al-Mutairi family were surprised when they went to the hospital to collect the body. Naif’s nephew explained: “My uncle was sitting on the bench outside the morgue sobbing. He apologized to us all for the harm he had done and it seemed like he wanted to be reconciled with us. The problem is he is so unpredictable. How do we know if he will really change or if he is just going through a temporary phase because of his mother’s death?”

When asked if he wanted his uncle to remain at home or to leave, the nephew said, “I don’t know; it is hard to tell. I don’t think anyone really cares anymore. We have lost faith in the police but we still have our faith in God. He will guide us through these hard times.”

Arab News contacted the head of the Criminal Investigation Division late Sunday evening. He told Arab News: “I am shocked by this situation. I have been in command for 12 years and have never heard anything as outrageous as this. In any case, I have notified the head of the police and the head of intelligence and I expect Al-Mutairi to be picked up in the next few days.”

In the meantime, he is at home with other family members receiving the condolences of those who have come to mourn with the family on the death of one of its most influential members.