A distraught British mother of three has today spoken for the first time about the living nightmare she and her family have endured since her husband was abducted, disappeared, tortured, coerced and forced to hand over their life savings to the Saudi authorities.
Mira Lozi, from London, has barely seen her husband Rami Naimi in person since he was abducted in Dubai in 2017, on his way back from a part-personal, part-business trip to Australia where he accompanied his elderly father, former oil minister Ali Al Naimi, on his book tour.
The family was advised to keep the ongoing ordeal under the radar to maximise chances of securing the innocent international businessman’s freedom through private and diplomatic channels. But after nine years, Mira is now seeking public support to help ‘Bring Rami Home’.
Out of complete desperation at the lack of diplomatic progress, and given serious risks to Rami, Mira has now been forced to make the horror story public without her husband’s agreement since he is constantly monitored and unable to leave the Kingdom.
Since his torture, the Saudi authorities have concocted a series of false charges against him and held several closed-door court hearings in the capital, Riyadh.
The family’s legal team, led in the UK by human rights barrister and lead counsel Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, working with Tatyana Eatwell, say Rami’s abduction, detention, torture and incarceration highlights a broader pattern of Saudi Arabia's transnational repression under Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, known as MBS – the de facto authoritarian ruler of the Kingdom.
Rami’s abduction happened at the same time as the roundup of elite Saudi nationals worldwide in November 2017, which preceded the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi – who was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 by agents of the Saudi government.
Mira, who was recently diagnosed with cancer and is now undergoing intensive treatment, says: "Today, I am acting out of total despair. Without Rami our family is totally broken. I am broken – physically and mentally.
“Rami is not a journalist or activist, he’s not one of the Saudi elite and was very surprised to find himself in the same vicinity as others who were rounded up. He's a regular businessman and a father of three who was abducted for no reason, in another country, and then forced onto a private jet to Saudi and then disappeared and tortured.
“For nine years, this has been, and continues to be, a living nightmare for my family with no end in sight. The Saudi authorities are hell-bent on destroying Rami and us as a family. But why? So they can extort money we don’t have?
“Is it simply because his father is a former Saudi oil minister and head of Aramco – a figure who is still lauded in the oil industry? Rami’s father’s position should have absolutely nothing to do with Rami, who has lived mostly outside the Kingdom since the age of 13.
“No family should endure this separation, and no innocent person should face abduction, torture and extortion of their life savings by a country which is trying to persuade the world that it’s a safe, relaxed, luxurious place to visit for Westerners."
What began as a routine transit through Dubai Airport on 4 November 2017, became a horror story that has torn the London family apart. The businessman was kidnapped and taken to Saudi Arabia, where he was initially held and tortured at the now-notorious five-star Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, which was turned into a detention facility and torture chamber by the Saudi authorities.
Rami endured electrocution, waterboarding, and psychological abuse – and has since suffered from the physical and mental after-effects of the violent, inhumane treatment he faced.
A shadow of his former self, he was released in January 2018 and, with no home in the Kingdom, was required to live with his elderly mother and father.
Rami was forced to sign a document pledging to hand over five billion Saudi Riyals, later “discounted” to 1 billion – money neither he nor his family possesses. He was placed under electronic surveillance and banned from leaving Saudi Arabia.
In September 2022, Rami was disappeared again for nearly two years, during which time he was subjected to further torture as well as emotional and psychological abuse. His family had no idea if he was alive or dead. It was only with intense work behind the scenes by his legal team, working with international diplomats, that he was located in Al Ha’ir Prison. He was eventually released with an electronic tag and subject to a travel ban in March 2025.
Following his release, he first learned of a false charge against him claiming that he “exploited” his father’s official influence. It was alleged that, acting as agent for a US company in the Kingdom, he helped the company to secure a contract, through tender, to provide Aramco with technology to prevent diesel smuggling, an issue that his father, as oil minister, had encouraged Aramco to address as soon as possible.
For this, Rami has been sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment following a secret trial. He is now facing additional fake charges, alleging that he followed certain social media accounts that are critical of the Kingdom.
Mira says: "We really wanted to believe in the Saudi judicial system. But that seems a total sham. He has been through what can only be described as a living hell. We have been through a living nightmare. Our children haven't been able to see their father properly in more than eight years. They have only been able to speak to him on monitored video calls for much of that time.
“Our eldest son is now 21 and half his life has been entirely without his father. I miss my husband terribly, we all miss him. He has missed every important date in our lives since he was taken. My daughter, Noor’s wedding, both my son Ali and my daughter Saria’s graduations … and the list goes on.”
Mira was able to visit her husband after his initial release from his torture hell in the Ritz, but is too frightened to return as the family fears they could be detained if they travel to Saudi Arabia or the UAE – and today, along with their legal team, wish to warn other families of the dangers of doing so.
Lead Counsel Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC said: “Saudi Arabia is not a safe place to visit, but in this case Rami Naimi wasn’t even visiting. He was abducted in another Gulf state - and then persecuted and tortured, perhaps simply for being the son of a former oil executive.
“He has been subjected to the most horrific, inhumane and unacceptable torture, he has injuries to prove the attacks by the Saudi state, and we want the world to see what is happening in the Kingdom under MBS, where proxy persecution – targeting family members or friends of those the state wishes to attack – is just one of the methods employed.”
As a businessman, Rami, who left Saudi Arabia at age 13 and was educated in the United States, had travelled internationally for business between the UK, US and Middle East for decades.
It is believed he may have been targeted due to his father's former prominent position in Saudi Arabia, despite having no political involvement himself.
A Bedouin, Rami’s father published his memoirs – Out of the Desert – in 2016 which gives some insight into domestic power, politics and oil in the Kingdom. In his 90s, he is now seriously ill and bed-bound.
While Rami’s case has been handled quietly through diplomatic channels, with support from international officials and British MPs, he remains detained in Saudi, under threat of further lengthy imprisonment, and unable to return home.
However, with Rami now facing what the Mira describes as a "ludicrously unfair trial on fake charges and possible incarceration for life," they have decided, as a last resort, to go public.
Mira says: "We've tried quiet diplomacy for years, but it has failed. We realise that by going public, Rami could be put at further risk. We haven’t been able to discuss our campaign with him but without going public, we may never see him again face to face. He is an innocent man, and he needs to be brought home to safety. He deserves to be with his family after all this time.
“We now urge the British government, MPs, the European Union, the United Nations, and the world to see what is happening and to take action to help free Rami. The Saudi state cannot be allowed to abduct and torture innocent people while international celebrities and comedians and sportspeople all encourage the rest of us to visit the mega-wealthy Kingdom.”
And she concludes with a warning: “Saudi should be seen as a pariah state, not a holiday destination. It is too dangerous to visit the Kingdom, we would say ‘stay away’ at all costs because you might be next.”
