ASIR, 12 August 2005 — The 26-year-old mother of three, called the ‘Khamis Mushayt Girl’, convicted of murdering a man six years ago is scheduled to be executed next Thursday after the slain man’s family failed to attend the meeting set up by tribal leaders in Asir to talk about a possible last-minute pardon.

The Al-Kulais family had earlier refused all public pleas to forgive her and demanded that the state execute her.

A public outcry had earned the young woman a brief reprieve as her execution date was postponed once for a last-ditch attempt to persuade the victim’s family to forgive her, especially since she is the mother of three young children and has expressed regret over the death of their kinsman.

With the family failing to attend the meeting with tribal leaders, people here feel that all the pleas have fallen on deaf ears, and the likelihood of the family forgiving the young woman is slim, Al-Madinah newspaper reported.

It is now a race against time for the well-wishers as they have just about a week more to sway the Kulais family from their stand.

The “Khamis Mushayt Girl,” has spent the last five years in the women’s jail in Abha. In her five years behind bars, the young mother has expressed remorse over her actions and has turned to God, memorizing the entire Qur’an in the process.

The city of Khamis Mushayt, which is relatively small, has been crowded with residents who have flocked to the town to muster sympathy for her.

A website was constructed to gather public support for the condemned woman on the Internet. So far the number of people visiting the website has been impressive.

“Some 300,000 people from more than 75 countries have visited the website, even though it has only been constructed in the past three weeks,” said Dr. Waleed Abu Milhahe, webmaster of the site. People in Asir are circulating messages in their bid to save the woman.

Al-Madinah contacted Milhahe, who said that the efforts are continuing to save the mother of three. He was still hopeful that the victim’s family would in the end pardon the woman.

Khamis Mushayt Mayor Abdul Aziz ibn Mushayt called on the victim’s family to forgive the woman.

He said, “I know what the family of the victim is going through. I am optimistic that the family will forgive her. We find ourselves in a difficult situation. I pray to God that mercy is shown to the mother of three.”

In a related development, the Dammam court sentenced 15-year-old Egyptian Ahmad to be executed for the murder of three-year-old girl Walaa, Al-Yaum reported.

The Egyptian killed the girl last year in Dammam. Ahmad was accompanied by his father to the court.

He had spent one year at the Juveniule Center in Dammam. The decision will be sent to the cassation court in Riyadh for approval.

Walaa, whose family had reported her missing, was found in a garden in Al-Khaleej neighborhood with 20 stab wounds. After investigation, police arrested Ahmad, who confessed to the crime. Ahmad’s family was Walaa’s neighbor.

Meanwhile, Ahmad’s father urged the Egyptian Embassy to save his child. He said, “My son confessed to the crime and I entreat the embassy to try to get the victim’s family to forgive him.”