The torture William Sampson endured in Saudi Arabia was disgusting and maddening. But his mistreatment grew from an understandable frustration of westerners who traipse across the globe with notions of cultural superiority.

The large number of Westerners who show disregard, even contempt, for Saudi laws and customs is hurting the long-term relationships, business or otherwise, we might develop there.

Such people, and Sampson relates that there are many, are making a stupid mistake in a way that it’s hard to understate.

And Saudi Arabia has the potential to be one of the hotspots of economic growth for Albertans. As the oil there is getting harder to extract, we have expertise that could assist them.

Saudi Arabia is also arguably the fastest-growing, most youthful country in the world. With piles of the commodity (hydrocarbons) that we are great at managing, it was potentially a perfect fit for Albertans, except . . .



Today, there are understandably few Alberta companies with a presence in Saudi Arabia. Certain partnerships and individual contracting are common, especially in education (the U of A and U of C), medicine, and the oil and gas services sector. Medical specialists, for example, can easily find work in Saudi hospitals for excellent pay, and a few Alberta surgeons have done just that. Ian Doig, who publishes Doig’s Digest, recently did a survey, and he found a handful of local oil and gas services companies that are either active there or have their equipment in the country.

But people such as Sampson are pushing a remote culture even farther away, reducing the chance that this potential will blossom into real growth. According to the Alberta government, Alberta’s exports to Saudi Arabia have shrunk dramatically since 1997.

Sampson is obviously a victim, but the recent publicity he has brought to the Saudi Arabia-to-West relationship is telling.

Sampson, who holds dual citizenship in Canada and Britain, was recently released from a Saudi jail, where he was facing the death penalty for allegedly killing a fellow expatriate with a bomb.

Last week, the National Post published his account of his more than two-and-a-half years in jail.

Sampson accuses the Saudis of torturing him, hanging him upside down and beating him with a pick-axe handle on his buttocks, testicles and the soles of his feet. At one point, he says, the swelling of his legs was so severe he could no longer see a distinction between his foot and his leg.

Despite denials from Saudi authorities, it is easy to believe virtually every detail of Sampson’s tale. Not only does it conform with the Saudi version (except the torture part) and the accounts of other prisoners there at the time, his body bears the marks of the deeds, including broken molars, a damaged spine and gimped ankles and feet.

Besides, I can see a good reason for the Saudis denying any knowledge of Sampson’s torture.

A Calgarian who has spent time contracting for a Saudi company told me that one of the cultural imperatives in the Kingdom of Saud is that only good news is passed on to superiors. This tells me that if Sampson had been tortured as he describes (illegal, even in Saudi Arabia), the political leadership there may never have known about it, since it is possible no one would have told them. Therefore, the Saudi authorities have grounds for plausible deniability. So, while Sampson is likely innocent of murder, he admits to lesser charges.

Sampson was punished more than he (or anyone) deserves, but his treatment of Saudis before his arrest was also less than they deserved. It is important to state that absolutely nothing excuses torture. But this is not a column about torture, it’s about westerners working in foreign countries, and Sampson made some judgments in that regard from which we can learn a great deal.

It’s really no wonder he was singled out. After all, he admits “barbecues, parties, concerts and theatre productions” were “technically illegal,” but commonplace in western compounds.

He says the parties were known to authorities, who turned a blind eye. He admits to frequenting illegal clubs that served alcohol.

Such drinking holes are well known to westerners in and around Saudi Arabia. One of my sources described such speakeasies: anyone who enters must first pay a membership fee, and then gets a special key to a home, usually in a large multi-unit residential complex.

Home-brew is most often served, sometimes in a British pub-like setting. Locks are changed frequently. Such secretive goings-on should have alerted Sampson that his behaviour was unwelcome. He should have gone home when he was caught up in one of the raids. But he was arrested and released, thanks to his company’s connections. I would assume that once Sampson was on the police radar screen, they were simply waiting for an excuse to pick him up on any charge, because of the resentment these law-enforcement officials must have felt. They caught him (he admits) breaking the law, but he was above paying the penalty.

Sampson dismisses this first arrest because “nearly all our normal activities were illegal under their law.” But this kind of justification is bogus.

Another Calgarian I know who worked in Saudi Arabia last summer called the practice of ignoring Saudi customs and laws (in any host country) “unwise.” I could not agree more. Yet Sampson says such behaviour was ubiquitous. This is the most disappointing part of his story.

I remember the public outcry when a Russian diplomat killed a Canadian youth in a drunk driving incident a few years ago. There was an uproar because he claimed diplomatic immunity and went home, having paid no penalty here. The same thing has been going on in Saudi Arabia for years and on a massive scale, with one law for the nationals, and another for the westerners. Surely, if there is a Saudi rage towards Western haughtiness, it is understandable. There is a natural law that justice ought to be blind.

So we simply cannot expect to have long-term relationships with countries if we disregard their mores, let alone their explicit rules. Behaving as if we are above the law of a host country is a sure way to prevent any lasting relationship or trade there, and also a way to hurt the chance of such a country ever seeing democratic principles in a positive light.

I’m sickened by the torture tales, but they have brought to light how common it is for Westerners to thumb their noses at Saudi law. It should be basic common sense that when we accept contracts on foreign soil, we are signing on to the idea of obeying their societal rules, too. Shame on those who do otherwise.