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 Support The DrudgeReport; Visit Our Advertisers  SAUDIS SENTENCED ME TO CRUCIFIXION, SAYS FREED BRITON Sun Sep 07 2003 12:06:33 ET A Briton who faced a death sentence over his alleged part in a car bombing campaign said he falsely confessed to involvement after being repeatedly tortured over nine days. Sandy Mitchell, who was among six Britons and a Belgian national freed from jail last month by Saudi's King Fahd, told how he attempted suicide as the torture continued even after his televised confession. Mr Mitchell, who was living in Riyadh with his wife and two-year-old son, was accused of being part of a bombing campaign linked to an underground turf war over the selling of illegal alcohol in Riyadh. Originally from Kirkintilloch near Glasgow, the anaesthetic technician faced public execution along with William Sampson, who also hailed from Glasgow, for allegedly masterminding a plan behind a car bomb attack in November 2000 which killed fellow Briton Christopher Rodway. Four other ex-patriates, James Cottle from Manchester, Peter Brandon from Cardiff, Les Walker from the Wirral and James Patrick Lee were serving 12-year sentences. In an interview with BBC Scotland's Frontline Scotland programme broadcast tonight, Mr Mitchell, 44, said he had eventually confessed when his wife was threatened. Mr Walker, a maintenance manager who had lived in Saudi for 23 years, also told how he gave in when his wife was mentioned and how he too considered taking his own life. Mr Mitchell, who was arrested shortly after a car bomb, said the beating started almost immediately as he was taken by secret police to a detention centre. "The beatings started with punching, kicking and spitting and eventually progressed to hitting me with sticks. "They had this axe handle and I was beaten on the soles of my feet. "I was hung upside down with chains on my ankles and wrists, and a bar placed behind my knees... "I was hoisted up, exposing the soles of my feet, and my buttocks and I was just beaten continuously." Mr Mitchell said he eventually broke, "when they said to me 'your wife is Thai, we can do anything we want to her'... By that stage I could confess to anything." After confessing on state TV and being sentenced to death by beheading and crucifixion, Mr Mitchell said he continued to be tortured in prison as his captors laughed and spat at him. "The fact that they took pleasure in that is beyond comprehension," he said. ""I've just never known anyone to be so evil in my life." In solitary confinement, Mr Mitchell retained half of his daily heart tablet every day and eventually attempted to overdose on the pills. Mr Walker described his torturers as wicked "sadists", telling the programme he confessed when they said they would send a car to collect his Filipino wife. Asked how he coped with 13 months of solitary confinement, he said: "I don't honestly know... At times I wanted to top myself, but that's the coward's way out. I don't know how I survived that." Eventually he was transferred to Mr Mitchell's cell, which they shared for around a year, and a move Mr Walker said may have saved his life. "I got a shock when I seen him, because he had lost so much weight, he looked so drawn," Mr Walker added. "When he was down I would try and bring him back up, and when I was down I know he brought me back up. He kept me sane, he kept pushing me not to give in... If I hadn't have been put in with Sandy I don't think I would have been here now." Mr Mitchell said he was given a new "purpose", soon realising he had to be mentally stronger for the sake of his colleague, who was "emotionally wrecked". "He's a much older man, one of the kindest men I've ever known and the fact that he was dragged into this whole mess was absolutely outrageous." Mr Mitchell, who has always maintained his innocence and who has retracted his confession, vowed to clear his name and told of his struggle to rebuild his life. "I have to try and get my life together for the sake of my family as well as myself. I have to try to be strong, but I'm not a strong as I once was, emotionally and physically." |
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