JEDDAH, 24 March 2008 — The Appeals Court yesterday abrogated a verdict issued by a lower court calling for the execution of Faisal Al-Otaibi, known as Abu Kab. The court, however, ratified an earlier verdict related to the payment of blood money.

Abu Kab’s case has been transferred to another committee for investigation and the file will arrive at the court tomorrow, an official statement said.

The high-profile case of Abu Kab — a nickname meaning “the guy with the cap” — began in late 2005 when the young naval officer rented a car and took four young boys with him joyriding.

Abu Kab performed a drifting stunt at 120 kmph that resulted in a crash that led to the deaths of his three passengers. Khaled Abu Rashid, the lawyer defending Abu Kab, said the Appeals Court’s decision conformed to what they wanted.

“We had contested the decision to execute Abu Kab and had called for abrogating the verdict. The court’s decision has now restored our confidence in the judicial system,” the lawyer said.

Fouzan Al-Otaibi, father of Abu Kab, was also happy over the court decision. He said the media had been unfair to his son, arguing they had treated him like a criminal. Asked how many court sittings they had to attend for the case, the father said they had been involved in the legal battle for the past two years and four months.

“We have attended about 16 sittings and had strong faith that the truth would prevail in the end, irrespective of the long period the judicial procedures took. We accept the decisions issued by our judges.”

According to Saudi law, capital punishment has to be endorsed by the Court of Appeals before it is carried out. The Appeals Court had earlier rejected the death sentence against Abu Kab, saying it was too severe for the crime.

According to legal experts, this is the first time a joyrider has been sentenced to death. In all similar cases in the past, joyriders have been sentenced to jail for periods ranging from six months to one year and asked to pay blood money.

In a previous statement, Saleh Al-Ghamdi, the lawyer representing Badar Al-Khathila, father of two of the three boys killed in the incident, said, “The General Court in Jeddah is convinced beyond doubt that the culprit deserves the maximum punishment, particularly because he is working in the security department.”

The accident that resulted in the deaths of the three boys took place north of Jeddah. The family of one of the three forgave Abu Kab and refused to accept any blood money.