London - Claims of sexual abuse made by the two British nurses recently freed from prison in Saudi Arabia have been dismissed as "laughable", by the country's ambassador to Britain, Dr Ghazi Algosaibi, writes Rachel Donnelly.
Lucille McLauchlan and Deborah Parry, who were convicted of the murder of their Australian colleague, Yvonne Gilford, in 1996, claimed in their diaries that police officers in Saudi Arabia threatened them with rape if they did not confess to the murder.
In the BBC programme, Panorama, broadcast on Thursday night, Parry claimed that during a five-day interrogation police officers held lighted cigarettes to her eyes and repeatedly struck her across the throat in an attempt to make her sign a confession. Both women also said they were threatened with rape and were promised they would be released if they admitted the murder.
Denying the charges against the Saudi police, Dr Algosaibi said he was not surprised by the "sensationalism" in the British press toward the whole episode. However, anyone with even the slightest knowledge of Saudi society, its deeply religious and conservative nature, "will realise that any allegations of sexual abuse are laughable". He also criticised the Panorama programme, describing it as a "Hollywood production. . .as for the actors and actresses, I may heartily recommend them to BAFTA for minor comedy awards". The programme-makers defended the production, saying it had researched the story thoroughly and had tried to ensure the reconstructions were as realistic as possible.