Melvindale family fears father may never come home after being detained in Saudi Arabia
A Melvindale family fears they may never see their father again after his detainment in Saudi Arabia.
"It is a dangerous situation for everyone involved."
According to family attorney Abdullah Moughni, Mohamed Salem, 63, was last seen in Saudi Arabia back on Nov. 1.
Salem, a Yemeni-American, is a father of 10 children, raising most of his family in Melvindale, Michigan.
Moughni says Salem took his two sons to Umrah, a pilgrimage to Islam's most sacred site: the Kaaba located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. However, Salem's holy trip took an unexpected turn.
"While he was at Umrah, he was in a line waiting to get to a certain part of it when it was broken up and he was forced away from his two sons. He was infuriated. He was frustrated, and at some point two individuals came up to him. They said, 'Hi, we're from Libya. What happened in this situation?' He said, 'If it were not for Mecca and Medina, we would burn this country to the ground.' The two individuals grabbed him and it turns out that they were Saudi Arabian officials and they arrested him" Moughni explained.
Salem's outburst not only landed him in handcuffs, but according to Moughni, finds himself detained in Dhahban Central Prison, a max security facility facing allegations of torture and known to house terrorists in Saudi Arabia.
"It's sort of starting to seem that these foreign governments no longer respect America's power and greatness. It's to the point we're not only do our enemies detain our citizens, but now also our allies in Saudi Arabia feel comfortable enough to kidnap and arrest our citizens," Moughni says.
Salem's search for freedom comes nearly one month after Saudi Officials reportedly arrested Florida man Saad Ibrhaim Almadi, 72, sentencing him to 16 years in prison for tweets he made in the U.S against the Saudi government.
Other notable Americans held captive internationally include WNBA star Brittney Griner who remains behind bars in Russia. Griner is currently serving a nine-year sentence after getting caught carrying less than an ounce of hashish oil.
As for Salem, Moughni says pressure from U.S. leadership is his only hope to get Salem back home.
"The family calls on our leaders, our elected officials to step in and do everything in their power to bring our people home. They need to step up and do what's right. Bringing home our people," Moughni says.
While there is no word on any charges against Salem, Moughni says there has been zero line of communication with Salem since his arrest. Meanwhile, Salem's two sons, who are in their twenties, are in Saudi Arabia waiting for their father's release.
