Convicted killer saved from gallows in last minute

Riyadh: A Saudi man convicted of killing another citizen was saved from execution in the last minute after the victim’s relatives accepted blood money and pardoned him.

Mohammed Al Sairi has just been taken for beheading in a public place when a new court order arrived, the Arabic language daily Ajel said.

It said the execution was delayed for two weeks after the victim’s family agreed that the killer’s relatives pay SR36 million (BD 3.6 million) diya (blood money) for pardon.

“Al Sairi’s relatives were given two weeks to pay the victim’s family…they have already raised SR six million (BD 60, 250),” the paper said in a report from the Southern Najran province.

Under Islamic law, which is strictly enforced in Saudi Arabia, a convicted killer can escape execution and walk free if pardoned by the victim’s family in return for diya, which is officially set in Saudi Arabia at SR300,000 for a Muslim victim. The victim’s relatives are allowed to demand any sum.