‘Abo Kab’ Goes to Appeals Court

JEDDAH, 28 June 2007 — The fate of “Abo Kab,” the 27-year-old Saudi man sentenced to death for a 2005 stunt-driving accident that resulted in the death of three young men and injury to two others, is now in the hands of a Saudi court of cassation (appeals court) after the case was officially transferred on Sunday.

“Thank God we succeeded in appealing the death verdict and moving the case to the court of appeals,” said Khaled Abu Rashid, the lawyer defending Faisal Fouzan Al-Otaibi, the defendant known by his nickname “Abo Kab” (“Father of the Baseball Cap”).

“Now the possibility (of an overturning of the death penalty) is open and we wish for what is fair to happen,” added the lawyer who said he hoped for a appeals court verdict within a month.

The lawyer said that one of the families of the deceased young men has forgiven Al-Otaibi for his negligence, but the other has not. Under Shariah law, crime victims or their surviving family members hold considerable sway in the fate of criminal defendants, often deciding between the death penalty or some blood-money arrangement that spares the life of a condemned person who is guilty of murder.

In this case, however, it isn’t clear if the forgiveness of the families would result in a stay of execution because Al-Otaibi has not been found guilty of murder, but rather an egregious case of negligent manslaughter where three people died.

The verdict has been widely viewed as that of a judicial system fed up with the growing trend among young Saudi men to drive recklessly in stunt-driving competitions on public roads.

Defenders of Al-Otaibi, however, say the death penalty is for murderers and is too harsh for a crime that is the result of stupidity and negligence. The three young men died as a result of a collision while Al-Otaibi was performing a so-called “drifting” stunt where a hand brake is applied at high speed with the aim of causing the vehicle to drift on its tires in a certain way.

Abo Kab’s father was quoted in a local daily as saying that the driver of the other car involved in the fatal accident has had 45 traffic violations and that the crime involves a traffic accident, not a case that would involve the death penalty.

Abo Kab is reportedly a former police officer with 66 traffic violations on record, mostly for speeding. His case has provoked sympathy and an Arabic-language website (www.abu-kab.com) has been set up by people calling for a reversal of the death penalty verdict.

The website, which begins with a Qur’anic verse on administering justice in a fair manner, calls for the verdict to be reversed based on the fact that Al-Otaibi did not consciously plan to kill anyone. The website also blames the Traffic Police and other governmental authorities for not revoking Al-Otaibi’s license sooner in spite of his numerous traffic violations.

The website also points out newspaper reports showing that the victims of the crime were friends of the defendant who went along willingly participating in a dangerous stunt-driving act. The site also refers to YouTube videos online depicting the accident, saying that it clearly shows the other driver was also at fault.

Drifting Toward Death

BBC Worldwide’s television show “Top Gear” in February showcased the trend of Saudi drifting by showing a video submitted by viewer showing how Saudis “have fun with their cars”.

After the video shows a Toyota driven by a Saudi in a controlled skid barely missing a truck at very high speed, the BBC presenter says: “Well done!”

What the BBC program didn’t show is the many videos that have been posted on YouTube showing young Saudi men being killed or terribly injured in these joyriding maneuvers.

In February, four fathers in Riyadh requested the death for a stunt-driver known as “Al-Hanouti” (a nickname meaning “The Mortician”) who caused the death of four young Saudis under the age of 27.

Al-Hanouti crashed with his car while performing a drifting maneuver similar to the one celebrated by the BBC program that killed four young men. Al-Hanouti allegedly fled the scene of the accident.

In April, Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, 21, faced his death as a joyriding bystander when a drifting vehicle lost control and stuck him down. He died after a week in intensive care unit at a Jeddah hospital.

Saudi authorities seem to be getting fed up with these incidences. A joyrider in Riyadh was sentenced to 300 lashes and two-and-a-half years in prison for fleeing the scene of a joyriding accident that killed one bystander.