By Alexander Bruzual Thursday, November 5 2009

The police yesterday maintained they did nothing wrong in searching the hotel rooms of a Saudi Arabian diplomat on Tuesday night.

Diplomat Fawaz Abdul Al Shabaili was interrogated by police officers for several hours while staying at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port-of-Spain. He arrived in Trinidad on Sunday to issue approximately 207 visas to local Muslims who are expected to travel to Saudi Arabia to take part in the Haj pilgrimage.

During a press conference at Police Administration Building in Port-of-Spain, Deputy Commissioner of Police Raymond Craig shouldered full responsibility for questioning the diplomat. He explained the police were acting on information which they interpreted as having the potential to “negatively affect” the state of national security in the country.

He said a party of six police officers accompanied him to the two hotel rooms which the diplomat occupied.

Craig stressed that all actions were done with the diplomat’s consent, as he explained the police were only taking precautionary steps as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was “around the corner” and the Hyatt was a major venue.

He said his suspicions were first raised when he saw incomplete visa forms in Al Shabaili’s possession. This was further compounded when he learnt the foreign national was also in possession of a local passport.

Craig explained after a conversation with Al Shabaili, he was able to retrieve telephone numbers for local authorities who verified the diplomat’s purpose in the country and his reason for the possession of the seized documents.

“I was satisfied he was in this country for a legit purpose and his presence did not impact national security. I spoke to my officers, and I apologised to Al Shabaili for any inconvenience I or any of my officers may have caused by coming to the two rooms he occupied,” Craig explained.

He stressed that Al Shabaili was not targeted by the police because he was a Muslim.

“I want to say categorically that at no time did the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service attempt or try to embarrass any Muslim individual in our society. We were simply acting on information received which we felt could impact national security. At no time did that information ever say which religious persuasion that person would have belonged to,” Craig said.

He pointed out that despite media reports, it was not the police action which caused Al Shabaili to leave the country on Wednesday. He said the diplomat already had flight reservations to leave, and was merely keeping them. However, Craig did say Al Shabaili may have left the Hyatt somewhat hurriedly, as he was “being chased” by a media house which wanted “certain kinds of information.”

Travel agent Zabar Baksh explained Al Shabaili was “visibly shaken” and somewhat “surprised” by the police action but said the diplomat had not indicated he was embarrassed. Baksh said there were clearly some problems regarding communication as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Immigration Division had to be contacted before Al Shabaili’s arrival, yet the Ministry of National Security had few facts to give the police when they visited the diplomat’s hotel rooms.

Newsday learned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating the incident.