Attacks were not part of gang war, says friend of men still in jail. The case against six Britons convicted of carrying out a series of bomb attacks in Saudi Arabia as part of an alleged alcohol “turf war” was further undermined yesterday when a British businessman released from a Riyadh prison confirmed that there was no rivalry between the convicted men. Gary O’Nions, 57, arrived at Heathrow airport yesterday after serving two years of an eight-year sentence for running an illicit drinking and social club in Riyadh. His original sentence of 800 lashes was commuted and a fine of 2 million ryals (£400,000) was waived. The six detained Britons were convicted after apparently confessing to carrying out a series of anti-western bombings which killed British engineer Christopher Rodway and maimed several others. The Saudi authorities claimed the bombings were part of a feud between the men, who were all connected to the expatriate social scene. Five of the Britons, arrested in 2000 and 2001, appeared in televised confessions but later retracted them. A Guardian investigation last year established that the confessions were extracted through torture. Most observers believe that the attacks were carried out by Saudi Islamic extremists. Full Story
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