William Sampson (author)
Encyclopedia
William Sampson, born April 17, 1959 (age 52), is a dual British
and Canadian national who was arrested in Saudi Arabia
on December 17, 2000 on a variety of charges including terrorism
, espionage
and murder
. He was imprisoned and torture
d for two years and seven months, and finally released and permitted to leave Saudi Arabia, along with several of his co-accused, on August 8, 2003.
In 2005 Sampson published a book about his experience entitled Confessions of an Innocent Man: Torture and Survival in a Saudi Prison.
, Nova Scotia
Canada
. The son of a British father and a Canadian mother, Sampson spent periods in Canada
, England
, Scotland
and Singapore
. At age 16 he joined the Seaforth Highlanders militia
in Vancouver. He stayed on for 18 months. He holds an MBA from Edinburgh University and a PhD
in biochemistry
.
He worked in biochemical research and pharmaceutical marketing prior to moving to Riyadh
in 1998 to work as a marketing consultant with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, a government development bank.
, deprived of sleep
.
After six initial days of torture largely conducted by three men, Ibrahim al-Dali (officer of the Mabaheth, the Saudi Arabian internal intelligence service), Khaled al-Saleh (officer of the Mabaheth) and a third unnamed man Sampson nicknamed "the Spiv," Sampson confessed and subsequently provided both written and videotaped confessions; he was sentenced to death by al-haad, a form of execution in which the victim is restrained and decapitated. The torture continued in various forms until his release.
A Saudi official has denied that Sampson was tortured.
ings targeting Western expatriates in Riyadh. British engineer Christopher Rodway was killed and his wife injured in one explosion, and a second bomb injured Britons Mark Paine and Steve Coughlan. The Saudi authorities claimed that the bombings were part of a turf war within a Western liquor trafficking ring, though the men were further forced to confess to being spies for the British government. The widow of Christopher Rodway, Jane Rodway, denied that her husband was involved in liquor trafficking.
In his videotaped confession, broadcast internationally on February 5, 2001, Sampson said:
, Sampson and the others were suddenly released, and immediately deported to London, England. Charles, Prince of Wales
, Rubin Carter
, Justin Rodway, and Canadian MP's Stéphane Dion and Dan McTeague were part of the diplomatic effort to obtain the release. In July 2004, it was revealed that the final release was part of a prisoner exchange for the release of five Saudis from the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay
, Cuba. Officials of both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK) and the State Department (USA) have "anonymously" confirmed this information. A memorandum between officials of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs referring to the prisoner exchange adds further evidence of its occurrence. The Belgian government has confirmed both the authenticity of the memo and its knowledge of the exchange, but has denied any direct involvement in the negotiations. The Canadian government refuses to comment on the matter.
Sandy Mitchell
and Les Walker, won a legal battle in London
, UK that allows them to sue the men in Saudi Arabia
they say tortured them into making the false confessions. In February 2005, a coroner's inquest into the death of Christopher Rodway, held in Trowbridge, concluded that there was no evidence to indicate that Sampson and Mitchell had any involvement in the death, and thus were not involved in the incident for which the Saudi Arabian government had arrested them. In June 2006, a decision handed down at the Law Lords overturned the earlier ruling of the Court of Appeal. Sampson, along with Mitchell and Walker are now appealing to the European Court of Human Rights claiming that the law in Britain, as interpreted in the Lords decision, is a violation of their rights under Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In June 2006 the group's appeal was overturned by the Law Lords on the grounds that Saudi officials are protected in Britain by the State Immunity Act 1978
. In 2007, Sampson was the subject of a National Film Board of Canada
-co-produced documentary.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Canadian national who was arrested in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
on December 17, 2000 on a variety of charges including terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. He was imprisoned and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d for two years and seven months, and finally released and permitted to leave Saudi Arabia, along with several of his co-accused, on August 8, 2003.
In 2005 Sampson published a book about his experience entitled Confessions of an Innocent Man: Torture and Survival in a Saudi Prison.
Early life
Sampson was born at Soldiers Memorial Hospital in MiddletonMiddleton, Nova Scotia
Middleton is a Canadian town in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.It is situated on the north bank of the Annapolis River. Incorporated in 1909, it is located near the centre of the Annapolis Valley, from which it gets its nickname, "The Heart of the Valley".-Economy:Founded by New England Planters,...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The son of a British father and a Canadian mother, Sampson spent periods in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. At age 16 he joined the Seaforth Highlanders militia
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada is a light infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The regiment is subordinate to 39 Canadian Brigade Group, Land Forces Western Area...
in Vancouver. He stayed on for 18 months. He holds an MBA from Edinburgh University and a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
.
He worked in biochemical research and pharmaceutical marketing prior to moving to Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
in 1998 to work as a marketing consultant with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, a government development bank.
Arrest
On the morning of December 17, 2000, Sampson was snatched at gunpoint by police as he left his home in Riyadh on his way to work. He was taken to Al-Hair Prison where regular sessions of physical and psychological torture began immediately. Among other things, Sampson says he was severely and repeatedly beaten, foot whippedFoot whipping
Foot whipping, variously known as bastinado, falanga , and falaka , is a form of corporal punishment in which the soles of the feet are beaten with an object such as a cane, rod or club, a stout leather bullwhip, or a flexible bat of heavy rubber...
, deprived of sleep
Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the...
.
After six initial days of torture largely conducted by three men, Ibrahim al-Dali (officer of the Mabaheth, the Saudi Arabian internal intelligence service), Khaled al-Saleh (officer of the Mabaheth) and a third unnamed man Sampson nicknamed "the Spiv," Sampson confessed and subsequently provided both written and videotaped confessions; he was sentenced to death by al-haad, a form of execution in which the victim is restrained and decapitated. The torture continued in various forms until his release.
A Saudi official has denied that Sampson was tortured.
Alleged crimes
Sampson was one of nine foreign nationals arrested on allegations of involvement in a series of car bombCar bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
ings targeting Western expatriates in Riyadh. British engineer Christopher Rodway was killed and his wife injured in one explosion, and a second bomb injured Britons Mark Paine and Steve Coughlan. The Saudi authorities claimed that the bombings were part of a turf war within a Western liquor trafficking ring, though the men were further forced to confess to being spies for the British government. The widow of Christopher Rodway, Jane Rodway, denied that her husband was involved in liquor trafficking.
In his videotaped confession, broadcast internationally on February 5, 2001, Sampson said:
Release
In August 2003, after thirty-one months' incarceration in solitary confinementSolitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
, Sampson and the others were suddenly released, and immediately deported to London, England. Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, Rubin Carter
Rubin Carter
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter fought professionally as a middleweight boxer from 1961 to 1966. In 1966, he was arrested for a triple homicide in the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey...
, Justin Rodway, and Canadian MP's Stéphane Dion and Dan McTeague were part of the diplomatic effort to obtain the release. In July 2004, it was revealed that the final release was part of a prisoner exchange for the release of five Saudis from the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
, Cuba. Officials of both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK) and the State Department (USA) have "anonymously" confirmed this information. A memorandum between officials of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs referring to the prisoner exchange adds further evidence of its occurrence. The Belgian government has confirmed both the authenticity of the memo and its knowledge of the exchange, but has denied any direct involvement in the negotiations. The Canadian government refuses to comment on the matter.
Legal case
On October 28, 2004, Sampson, along with BritonsUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Sandy Mitchell
Sandy Mitchell
Sandy Mitchell was one of seven men incarcerated in Saudi Arabia for the bombing death of Christopher Rodway, a British National living in Riyadh. While in prison, he was tortured and forced to make a televised confession in which he detailed the methods and as to which he and his fellow prisoners...
and Les Walker, won a legal battle in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK that allows them to sue the men in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
they say tortured them into making the false confessions. In February 2005, a coroner's inquest into the death of Christopher Rodway, held in Trowbridge, concluded that there was no evidence to indicate that Sampson and Mitchell had any involvement in the death, and thus were not involved in the incident for which the Saudi Arabian government had arrested them. In June 2006, a decision handed down at the Law Lords overturned the earlier ruling of the Court of Appeal. Sampson, along with Mitchell and Walker are now appealing to the European Court of Human Rights claiming that the law in Britain, as interpreted in the Lords decision, is a violation of their rights under Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In June 2006 the group's appeal was overturned by the Law Lords on the grounds that Saudi officials are protected in Britain by the State Immunity Act 1978
State Immunity Act 1978
The State Immunity Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed to implement the European Convention on State Immunity of 1972 into British law...
. In 2007, Sampson was the subject of a National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
-co-produced documentary.
Criticism of the Canadian government
Sampson has repeatedly criticised the Canadian government for its actions during his incarceration. Sampson states that his torturers were present at every meeting he had with Canadian diplomats and government representatives, who never insisted they leave and indeed accepted the Saudis' claims of Sampson's guilt, despite the lack of evidence, inconsistencies, and the statements to the contrary by Sampson and his supporters. He also alleges that he repeatedly informed embassy officials and Canadian medical professionals that he was being tortured, but to no avail.External links
- Torture and Survival in a Saudi Prison: William Sampson Recounts his 2½ Year Ordeal, A 2005 interview by Democracy Now radio in New York
- Death Sentence: The William Sampson Story, An interview with Peter Mansbridge (CBC)
- Statement on case of Canadian citizen William Sampson at Royal Saudi Embassy, Washington D.C.