Colorado Attorney General John Suthers flew to Saudi Arabia this week. The purpose of his trip: To reassure government officials there that Saudi national Homaidan al-Turki was treated fairly when he was convicted of sexually abusing an Indonesian nanny whom he had held captive in his home in Aurora.

Suthers said he was questioned aggressively by King Abdullah for 3 days about whether Homaidan Al-Turki was treated fairly when he was convicted in Arapahoe County of sexually assaulting an Indonesian maid and keeping her as a virtual slave in his Aurora home. Suthers said Al-Turki comes from an influential religious family in Saudi Arabia and was portrayed in the media there as a victim. “One of the brothers of the defendant that I had met sat through the trial and they simply cannot understand that a jury can give credibility to an Indonesian maid,” Suthers said. “And the only possible explanation that is some sort of anti-Muslim bias.”

Who picked up the tab for this extravagence?

While the trip was grueling, Suthers said he stayed in the Royal Palace Hotel in a six-room suite. The trip was paid for partly by the U.S. State Department and partly by King Abdullah.

Also along for the ride: Governor Owens’ chief counsel, Jon Anderson.