By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Justice sentenced 24 year old Ali al-Khawahir to paralysis from the waist down after finding him guilty of stabbing his friend in the back ten years ago. The act resulted in his paralysis. Al-Khawahir can avoid the punishment if he pays $270,000 in compensation to the victim.
Amnesty International condemned the sentencing, calling it an act of “retribution,” and saying that it is “outrageous” for the Kingdom to carry out. The rights group also said that the punishment was “tantamount to torture.” In a statement released last Tuesday, it pleaded with Saudi Arabia to not carry out the sentence. “Paralyzing someone as punishment for crime would be torture,” said Ann Harrison, Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director at Amnesty International. “It is time the authorities in Saudi Arabia start respecting their international legal obligations and remove these terrible punishments from the law.” It called the punishment an act of “qisas,” a retribution case, in which “other sentences passed have included eye gouging, tooth extraction, and death in cases of murder.”
Where the punishment of a crime demands “an eye for an eye,” a victim can demand retribution, request financial compensation for his suffering, or grant a conditional or unconditional pardon to the defendant. When thieves are punished, they are commonly sentenced to amputation of the right hand. When a defendant is punished for committing “highway robbery,” the punishment for such a crime is cross amputation, where the defendant’s right hand and left foot are both severed.
A spokesperson speaking on behalf of Britain’s Foreign Office said that London was “deeply concerned” by the sentence, and called it “grotesque.” The spokesperson also said that such punishment “was prohibited under international law.” Amnesty International also made a comment about Saudi Arabia’s potential violation of international law, saying “… the paralysis sentence would contravene the U.N. Convention against Torture to which Saudi Arabia is a state party…”
The Saudi Gazette reported that al-Khawaher has been awaiting his punishment for the last ten years. “Ten years have passed with hundreds of sleepless nights…” said al-Khawaher’s mother. She also said the compensation for the victim’s family had doubled but was later reduced. Even reduced, she says that she cannot even pay a tenth of what is owed to save her son from being paralyzed.
Al-Khawahir was only 14 when he stabbed his friend in 2003. As a result of the stabbing, he is paralyzed from the waist down. Amnesty International claims that Saudi Arabia had made a similar sentence to another defendant in 2010, but it is unknown whether the punishment was carried out. The Saudi Ministry of Justice denies that they even considered punishing the defendant in that case with paralysis.
For further information, please see:
Al Arabiya — An eye for an eye for a Spine? Saudi man Sentenced to Paralysis — 4 April 2013
BBC News — Saudi Paralysis Sentencing ‘Grotesque’ — 4 April 2013
The Guardian — Saudi Arabian Paralysis Sentence ‘Grotesque’, says Foreign Office — 4 April 2013
Russia Today — ‘Torture’ Punishment: Saudi Sentence man to be Paralyzed — 4 April 2013
CNN — Reported Saudi Paralysis Sentence ‘Outrageous,’ Rights Group says — 3 April 2013
