3 Saudis kill Egyptian worker in Riyadh

Three Saudi citizens violently killed an Egyptian worker in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday, the Egyptian Consulate in Saudi Arabia reported in an official statement.

Waleed Hamdy al-Sayed, a 36-year-old salesman at a Saudi car accessory company, was in a company car in Batha district when a group of Saudis attempted to pass by. Online testimonies from Egyptians in Saudi Arabia suggest the perpetrators hit Sayed on the head with a pair of scissors and a screwdriver, before they tied him to their car and ran him over.

A video widely circulated on social media showing Sayed being run over by a white van and left to die in the street. The assailants attempted to flee the scene, but were stopped by another Saudi citizen, who blocked the road ahead with his car.

The perpetrators were referred to the prosecution, according to the consulate’s statement, which added that their legal advisor is following up on the investigation and a Saudi law firm will represent Sayed.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry has come under fire for failure to act on a number of assaults on Egyptian expatriates in Gulf nations.

Last November, Ahmed Atef Farghali, an Egyptian worker at an electronics store in Kuwait, was killed after he was run over by a group of Kuwaitis for refusing to sell a video games console at a discounted rate. A fight broke out, which escalated when the group of Kuwaitis ransacked the store, prompting other Egyptians working nearby to attempt to intervene. One of the Kuwaitis then fatally ran over Farghali with his car and fled the scene.

Egyptian workers have also been subjected to abuse in other Arab nations. Egyptian waiter Khaled Othman was assaulted by three men in the Jordanian city of Aqaba in October. One of the assailants was later identified as a well-connected Jordanian parliamentarian. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement at the time saying its consulate in Aqaba was closely following the incident, and Egypt’s ambassador to Amman contacted the head of the Jordanian parliament to demand the perpetrators be brought to justice.