Wife of Briton jailed without charge in Saudi Arabia tells of her family's distress

The family of a British national held in a Saudi jail without charge for more than four months have spoken about his alleged maltreatment, including the refusal of the Foreign Office for two months to share any information about his plight with his pregnant wife.

- Patrick Wintour

The Saudi authorities arrested Ahmed al-Doush after a family visit to the Gulf state on 31 August, and British officials have been granted consular access to him only once. He has not been allowed access to a lawyer in Saudi Arabia, and during his detention his wife gave birth to their fourth child. He was refused permission to speak to his wife on the day of the birth.

He is believed to have been in solitary confinement since his arrest and has been incommunicado for 33 days.

Doush, 41, who is based in Manchester, works on a contract for Bank of America as a senior business analyst. His lawyer, Haydee Dijkstal, who is based in Britain, said he had no history of political activism.

He has been given no reason for his arrest and has not been charged, but has been cross-examined about his very limited social media accounts.