MAKKAH, 13 June 2007 — The Reconciliation Committee in Makkah — an organization set up to secure pardons for murderers sentenced to death — is currently reviewing the cases of 317 death row prisoners across the Kingdom, said Dr. Nasir Al-Zahrani, executive president of the committee.
He added that in the last year the Makkah region has seen the highest number of executions, while the Eastern Province recorded the lowest. “Despite the large number of cases, the Reconciliation Committee has high hopes of securing pardons from victim’s family with the support of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal,” said Al-Zahrani.
“We do not get involved in cases that we know are hopeless and in which we can’t secure pardons; like cases of murder following rape, drug smuggling and other horrible acts that society generally abhors. The committee also does not get involved in cases where parties ask for humunguous amounts of blood money or try to make a business out of the work we do,” said Al-Zahrani, adding that there are cases in which people have asked for millions of riyals and turned the committee’s efforts into a business deal.
“It is a great feeling to see the joy and happiness in the eye of a man who is saved from execution. Sometimes victim’s families are poor and living below the poverty line. We at the Reconciliation Committee try to help such families with donations from good doers,” he said, adding that in some cases murderers and victims are from the same village, tribe and even same family. “In such cases the Reconciliation Committee has to try extra hard,” he said.
Ali Al-Zahrani, the vice executive president of the Reconciliation Committee, said that the increase in murder cases is related to people not being able to control their anger and a lack of religious knowledge. He said that 207 murders took place in the Western Region, 17 in the Eastern Region, 66 in the Southern Region and 24 in the Central Region.
