RIYADH: It was his disenchantment with the real goals of Al-Qaeda and differences with its commanders that made Fawwaz Al-Humaidi Al-Otaibi take the decision to turn himself in, Al-Watan daily reported on Thursday.
Fawwaz, who is on the Interior Ministry’s list of 85 wanted militants issued in February, had surrendered to authorities on his own choice, according to a statement of the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.
Another factor that prompted the 36-year-old Saudi graduate in mass communications from King Saud University was the humanitarian treatment by the authorities toward those who have repented and wanted to return.
The moment Fawwaz made up his mind to return to normal life, he contacted his brother who, in turn, informed the authorities and discussed the matter with Assistant Interior Minister for Security Affairs Prince Muhammad bin Naif.
Fawwaz had left the Kingdom with “the intention of fighting in the way of God after witnessing the ways of the occupying American soldiers,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
He went to Iran from the United Arab Emirates and on to Pakistan “where Al-Qaeda members facilitated his entry to Waziristan in the north west of Pakistan bordering with Afghanistan.”
“We sneaked across the borders to Afghanistan but Al-Qaeda commanders told us that they did not need Arab or non-Arab fighters,” he said. “We asked Al-Qaeda members why don’t they allow us to join the fight as we have come prepared for that. They said they adopted a sort of guerrilla warfare and wanted the war to drag on to make matters extremely difficult for the Americans.”
He added that although many young militants head for Afghanistan, only a few are allowed to join the Al-Qaeda fighters.
“Those few are assigned the duty of photographing the operations to be used for the organization’s propaganda activities,” he said.
It was then he decided to return and surrender to the authorities though he was aware of the risks involved in such a decision. He called his brother and told him of his intention. When his brother conveyed the message to the Interior Ministry about Fawwaz’s desire to surrender, the authorities contacted the Saudi Embassy in Pakistan and completed the required formalities for his return home.
The spokesman of the Interior Ministry later confirmed the militant’s initiative to surrender. Fawwaz was allowed to meet his family members and then taken for Umrah on Tuesday, according to the spokesman. He added that Fawwaz’s case will be treated as other such cases with due consideration for the fact that he initiated the surrender and the role of his relatives in the matter.
Meanwhile relatives of another man in the wanted list, Yousuf Mohammed Mubarak Al-Jubairi Al-Shahri, said their efforts to persuade a relative to return to the country and surrender failed, according to Al-Madinah daily.
“I received a telephone call from my son Yousuf, now living in Yemen, on Aug. 20. He talked with me for 15 minutes, but he refused my advice to surrender despite my reminder to him of Prince Muhammad bin Naif’s lenient approach toward those who surrender,” said Col. Muhammad bin Mubarak Al-Jubairi (Ret.).
