Durocher told Arab News via e-mail that things had settled down after two officials from the Canadian Embassy visited Dammam on Monday and met with Morin and the concerned police officials there. Embassy officials were tight-lipped when asked Tuesday to comment on the case. According to reliable sources, activists Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyuni entered the limelight in the case after they were detained by Dammam police on June 6 when they tried to help Morin.
The reports said that the activists were released after promising they would not interfere in the case again. Al-Huwaider reportedly met Durocher in the US a few years back. Al-Oyuni, whose name has also been dragged into controversy, is a Saudi social worker.
The mother said there were no charges against her daughter, but the case was under investigation as per the reports of the Canadian Embassy.
She, however, said: “Saeed Al-Shahrani, Morin’s husband, is asking for a permanent residence visa for Canada and is probably holding my daughter hostage for that.”
Asked about the involvement of Al-Huwaider in the case and the harassment meted out to Morin, Durocher said that she asked Al-Huwaider to give money to her daughter for food and water.
On the contrary, Morin claims in the Arabic newspaper that she is treated well by her husband and says that as a Muslim she doesn’t want to leave the Kingdom. Morin converted to Islam in 2003.
Morin’s relatives claimed that Morin has been trapped in Saudi Arabia with a husband who is abusive toward her and their three young children. Her mother has been vocal about keeping Morin’s case in the spotlight, urging the Canadian government to rescue her. Morin currently lives in Dammam in an apartment provided by her husband. This woman married the Saudi national, came to the Kingdom on her own free will and had three children.
Morin moved to Saudi Arabia six years ago to be with her husband when he was deported from Canada. Durocher said that on previous visits Morin’s husband allowed her to travel freely, and told her that she would never be sequestered. In spite of the attempts to get the wheels turning, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs has not reported any movement in the case. “This is a complex family matter with no easy solution,” the department said in a statement.
