In the Saudi Arabian city of Al-Khobar on the Persian Gulf, two men have been arrested and charged with "forced conversion" of a young woman. They are accused of giving her books on religion and inviting her to join a chat forum where religious topics are discussed.
According to the newspaper Al-Eqtisadiya, it is the woman's father who has accused the two men after he failed to persuade his daughter to return home from Lebanon and renounce her new faith.
According to local intelligence, the case started when the young woman, who works in a bank, befriended first the Saudi colleague and then the Lebanese colleague. The three met from time to time and the young woman fell in love with the Lebanese man, who gave her the books and invited her to join a religious chat forum.
In the complaint, the father states that the Lebanese man influenced her by telling her false things about Islam and that he has "shaken her convictions". He claims that the young woman also left the country illegally. According to Saudi law, it is illegal for a woman to have a passport without the permission of her "guardian", i.e. father, husband or brother.
The woman defends her faith from her residence in Lebanon and says that the Church is her only home.
