Family of Ex-Saudi Oil Minister’s Son Breaks Silence Over Alleged Abduction and Torture

​London’s quiet diplomacy has hit a brick wall, prompting the British family of businessman Rami Naimi to step into the public eye after enduring a nine-year ordeal of alleged abduction, coercion, and torture by Saudi authorities.

​Naimi—the son of former Saudi oil minister and longtime Aramco chief Ali Al-Naimi—was first seized in late 2017 during a high-profile trip to Dubai following a book tour in Australia. According to legal teams and family statements launched in London, Naimi was blindfolded, transferred by car to Abu Dhabi, and flown by private jet to Saudi Arabia. There, he was thrust into the infamous Ritz-Carlton purge, which swept up hundreds of the kingdom’s prominent elites.

​Recounting the severity of the initial detention, Naimi’s family alleges he was subjected to brutal physical and psychological abuse, including simulated threats involving his father, before being coerced into signing a multi-billion-riyal financial settlement in 2018. Despite subsequent releases, surveillance, and travel bans, Naimi was disappeared once more in 2022 for a nearly two-year stint at Al-Ha’ir prison. Following a secret trial, he was handed a six-year prison sentence over disputed allegations that he exploited his father’s legacy. He now faces a secondary trial centered on social media activity and unauthorized exit attempts.

​Speaking publicly for the first time, Naimi’s wife, Mira Lozi—who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer—admitted that years of following advice to maintain quiet, behind-the-scenes diplomatic channels had yielded nothing.

​“For nine years my children and I have lived through a nightmare,” Lozi said during a emotional press conference in central London. “Saying the truth today is like a liberation, enough is enough and we’re just hoping that we can end this nightmare and all the governments will be able to help us.”

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​Their son, Ali, who was only 12 when his father vanished, described the ordeal as a narrative pulled straight from a cinematic thriller. Legal representatives working on behalf of the family have acknowledged that navigating diplomatic relief is heavily complicated by Naimi holding EU citizenship rather than a British passport, even though his immediate family is firmly rooted in London.

​The family is now ramping up pressure on the British government, demanding robust intervention to finally secure Naimi’s freedom and put an end to nearly a decade of systemic detention.