JEDDAH, 15 November 2005 — Pardoning killers in murder cases has become a multimillion-riyal business. According to Al-Watan, profit is now the motive of forgiveness.
It is called blood money, and the families of some victims are cashing in, demanding sums beyond the reach of all but the very rich. Last year alone, more than SR40 million was paid to pardon eight people.
As the practice has almost become a kind of legal extortion that can bankrupt low- and middle-income families, people now are calling for the Shoura Council to intervene and issue new Shariah-compliant laws to regulate it.
Sheikh Saleh ibn Manie, who has mediated several blood money cases, said it was extremely difficult to persuade people to forgive, especially in tribal societies. He said he has followed up cases to gain forgiveness for killers with tribal leaders who have made the peacemaking process a personal business. They drive the blood money to millions which, the sheikh contends, is against the tenets of Islam.
“I’m against pardon through extortion,” the sheikh said. “But because of the killers’ families and their tribes insist on doing something to save their sons, we try.” He criticized the media for not highlighting such cases as a societal issue that needs attention.
Dr. Nasser ibn Misfer of the peacemaking committee in Makkah also expressed disgust about exorbitant blood-money demands that can destroy families, forcing them to beggary after they pay.
“We don’t approve of such tactics from the family of a dead person,” he said. “Our role at the committee is to make peace after we learn there is a chance to save the killer. We educate the family about the tolerance of Islam and tell them that such forgiveness will be greatly rewarded by God on the Day of Judgment.”
Sources say there are even some cases in which families publicly announce a killer is being pardoned for the sake of God, but in reality a large sum has been paid to them under the table with silence about the payment being one of the conditions for forgiveness.
Hamed Al-Wadie, a tribal leader, said the problem stems from a lack of awareness and a weakness in faith. He said paying millions to pardon a killer is too much and urged the Shoura Council to intervene and create rules and regulations to govern such cases. “Some tribes have a bad habit of intolerance,” he said. “We shouldn’t reward it.”
