London, July 31: A British court yesterday threw out a compensation bid against the Saudi government by a Briton who claims he was tortured into confessing to a terrorist bombing in Riyadh in 2001.
The High Court in London blocked accountant Ron Jones's claim for more than two million pounds (2.8 million euros, 3.2 million dollars) on the grounds of Saudi Arabia's "state immunity".
Jones, from Crawley, south of London, was kept in a Saudi detention centre for 67 days following a bomb blast in which he was injured outside a bookshop in March 2001.
He was released after being allowed to retract his confession. He has since been diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and says he is no longer able to work.
Jones, who went to Riyadh in November 2000 to work as a tax adviser for a Saudi-owned accountancy firm, said he was seized from his hospital bed after the blast, taken to a detention centre and tortured into confessing.



Following his release, Jones claimed his hands and feet were caned and beaten with a pickaxe handle, and that he was subjected to sleep deprivation, beatings and psychological duress.



"It was really much as I expected -- that we would lose today -- but we have the right to appeal and hopefully we can take that forward," said Jones following Wednesday's court decision.



"I feel angry. I still feel that the Saudis have more protection under English law than I have, and the law is wrong," he added.


Bureau Report