Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has executed a member of the royal family for murder in a rare case involving one of the thousands of members of the House of Saud.
The prince was found guilty three years ago by a Saudi court for murdering a young Saudi man following a group fight in al-Thumama region in the outskirts of Riyadh. Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir was put to death in the capital, Riyadh, for shooting dead Adel al-Mahemid, a Saudi, during a brawl, the interior ministry said. A statement said that “Turki bin Saud al-Kabir killed Saudi citizen Adel bin Suleiman bin Abdul Karim Mohaimeed.”
The statement added that “authorities were able to arrest the above mentioned offender. After the investigations, they charged him of committing the crime and his indictment was sent to the General Court. He was charged with what was attributed to him and sentenced to death as retribution.”
The statement further added that the Interior Ministry confirmed “King Salman’s keenness on enforcement of security, justice and God’s judgments.” Some Saudis praised King Salman on social media for being “decisive” while others said they were pleased to see that the “law applied to everyone”.
It is rare for members of the royal family, who are estimated to number several thousand, to be executed. One of the most well-known cases of a Saudi royal being executed was that of Faisal bin Musaid al Saud, who assassinated his uncle, King Faisal, in 1975.
The verdict and sentence were upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, and a royal decree was issued to proceed with the execution. The victim’s family refused offers of “blood money” by which they would receive financial compensation in return for not demanding the death sentence.
