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Saudi Family Pardons 2 Killers of Their Son; 3rd in US Prison
 The family of a Saudi student murdered in the United States by three compatriots said Saturday they have pardoned the culprits, enabling two of them who were facing execution in this conservative Gulf state to walk free. The family said a Saudi prince had brokered the pardon.Mishal al-Suwaidi and Tariq al-Dossary confessed to killing Abdulaziz al-Kohaji in Denver in 2001 while he was an engineering student at the Community College of Denver. They were arrested, convicted and sentenced to death in the Saudi Arabia in 2002. But the two were freed Thursday after al-Kohaji's family filed papers with court officials confirming they wanted the pair spared, a police official said. It was unclear what, if any, impact the pardon would have on the third Saudi convicted in the killing, Naif al-Yousif. He is serving a life term in prison in the United States without the possibility of parole after a Colorado court sentenced him last January. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Saudi had no immediate comment. "I gave my pardon for the sake of God (and) we pray to God to give us peace and patience," said the victim's father, Ibrahim al-Kohaji, who lives in the Eastern Province city of Dhahran. "We reached the point that we believed nothing will bring our son back." Death sentences issued by Saudi courts, which follow strict Islamic law, can't be appealed and convicted murders facing execution can only be spared if the family of the victim agrees to forgive and pardon the culprits. Al-Kohaji said the prince of Eastern Province, Mohammed bin Fahd, approached his family to negotiate a pardon. It was unclear if the prince had paid any money to the victim's relatives to secure their forgiveness in line with a tribal custom. Abdulaziz al-Kohaji, the son of a Saudi oilman, and al-Yousif were both attending the Denver college when friends of the slain engineering student reported him missing in January 2001 after he did not show up for classes. His body was found in a landfill in Erie, 15 miles north of Denver, a month later and police said he had been taped to a chair and strangled before being thrown into a trash bin. Police said all three suspects were acquaintances of al-Kohaji and prosecutors said the motive was robbery. Al-Suwaidi and al-Dossary fled the United States and returned to their homes in the Saudi city of Dammam shortly after the murder. Both confessed in a court there to killing al-Kohaji and they were sentenced to die. A Saudi court also sentenced al-Yousif to death in absentia. The Associated Press attempted to contact al-Suwaidi and al-Dossary but their relatives did not permit them to comment. However a woman who identified herself as al-Dossary mother's said in a telephone interview that the pardon had thrilled her family. "The pardon lifts from my son and my family a burden of suffering and pain," she said. "I felt that the (victim's) family was willing to pardon my son and I will never forget this all my life." In case you haven't already guessed, yes - the Al Dossary and Al Suwaidi families have high connections and wield serious power in SaudiLand. In fact, it is likely that they are aligned with Prince Fahd who "brokered" the payoff deal thingy. Who'da thunk it, eh? Posted by: .com 2005-01-02 |
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