Man, wife jailed for torturing little sons

Saudi authorities jailed a man and his wife for using fire in torturing his two little sons in an underground cell as the two remain in hospital nearly a month after the crime was detected, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Police searching the couple’s house in the northwestern town of Tabuk on Monday found an electric heater along with other tools used by the two boy’s father and their step mother in torturing them.

Prince Fahd bin Sultan, a member of the Saudi royal family, has visited the two children, while their relatives received well wishes from Saudi King Abdullah’s daughter, Princess Adela bint Abdullah bint Abdul Aziz.

“New developments have just emerged in the case of the two boys as police have found an electric heater used in their torture by their father and his wife,” the Arabic language daily said.

Police discovered the torture case when the two children, aged four and seven years, were admitted to hospital in mid May and doctors said they were tortured.

Police searching their discovered a little underground cell used by the father to torture his two sons Waleed and Abdul Rahman.

“The cell is only around one square metre and has no furniture, ventilation or air conditioning,” a police spokesman said last month, quoted by local newspapers.

“Policemen searching the house also noticed the place was dirty as the two children apparently were relieving themselves there, which means they had been locked up for long periods of time.”

According to newspapers, police also found creams and plasters to treat the children’s wounds while they also discovered a letter from the man’s new wife urging him not to have mercy on his sons.

“Investigators visiting the two brothers were told that Waleed’s condition has stabilized but Abdul Rahman has lost his sight and hearing,” Okaz said.

Saudi police said the father, with the help of his wife, had used his fists and kicks, hot objects, and lashing with power cables and belts in torturing his sons.

Waleed, 4, and Abdul Rahman,7 were both admitted to hospital in serious condition, with bruises and burns all over their bodies. Waleed has also developed renal failure and is having difficulty moving the lower part of his body.

Police said bruises on the boys’ wrists also showed their father, who had divorced his wife, had been tying them up while torturing them.

“Waleed is showing some signs of improvement and he will undergo a surgery next week,” his uncle Abdul Aziz told Okaz on Tuesday.

“As for Abdul Rahman, he is unconscious most of the time…he stares blankly in the room…sometimes he cries and sometimes he laughs.”

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