Saudi Arabia tried to lure me to Istanbul, says Fawziya al-Atrudi

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Fawziya Al Arabi told the BBC about the violent death of her father The daughter of a former Saudi information minister has told the BBC that the kingdom has…

Saudi Arabia tried to lure me to Istanbul, says Fawziya al-Atrudi

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Fawziya Al Arabi told the BBC about the violent death of her father

The daughter of a former Saudi information minister has told the BBC that the kingdom has tried to lure her to its Istanbul consulate.

Fawziya Al Arabi said she had not been invited to the consulate last week after her father was found dead there.

Saudi Arabia has said they want to know the cause of his death, and not to discuss the matter further.

Mr al-Atrudi had been on a visit to Turkey to finalise a big Saudi delegation to the Future Investment Initiative conference, of which Fawziya is also a member.

Mr al-Atrudi has died after suffering a heart attack. His office has said he had cancer.

It is thought that Fawziya joined him in Turkey to wait for his daughter who had been due to deliver her PhD thesis.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Fawziya said her father was found dead after having a heart attack

In a phone call to the BBC last week Fawziya said that she was very concerned about her father’s health.

“As a daughter, I don’t have a lot of information but I have huge concerns for him and there are doctors here who could share what they know.”

In her BBC interview Fawziya said that some of her dad’s personal documents had been removed from his body.

“I remember one medical source when we spoke that they said that maybe when he was taken to the room and the curtains were closed, he went into cardiac arrest and his heart stopped as soon as the curtains were closed.”

Family friend Ali Baxy, who lives near the Al Aten family in Jeddah, said he is so worried about how her father’s death has been handled that he is afraid to send his children to his school.

“I am in extreme fear that if my daughters are walking with me and we walk down to the school in Jeddah, that they could be abducted.”

He also worries that he is not allowed to see his father’s body.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Fawziya’s family do not know the full details of her father’s death

“Ahead of the funeral, my eldest son will be going to work and will just drive to the place of his father’s funeral.”

Mr Baxy added that he doesn’t think it was his father’s plan to pass on the ideas on to his daughter and that he was not a “communist”.

“He is supposed to be part of the Saudi government and family”.

Leave a Comment