RIYADH, 2 April 2008 — A retrial into the death of Salman Al-Huraisi, a 28-year-old Saudi bootlegger who was allegedly beaten to death by two members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice last year, is to begin next Tuesday at the Riyadh General Court.
The Cassation Court tasked with reviewing lower court rulings ordered the retrial after three judges at the General Court reached a not-guilty verdict.
On Nov. 28 last year, the General Court acquitted the two commission members on charges of killing Al-Huraisi, who worked as a security guard, after taking him into custody in a raid on his home in May. The Cassation Court rejected the ruling after identifying several errors, including the judges’ failure to hear eyewitness testimonies.
“As many as seven members of the commission will testify in the new trial, which will begin next week,” said Yahya Al-Huraisi, one of the two lawyers representing the dead man’s family.
Al-Huraisi said the three judges in the original trial relied only on written testimonies taken by the General Investigation and Prosecution Board.
The defendants, their lawyer and the Al-Huraisi family’s lawyers attended a meeting in court yesterday to determine a date to start the retrial.
The two commission members were taken back to Al-Malaz Prison after the meeting.
“The defense lawyer had earlier requested the two commission members be released on bail after the first court reached its verdict, but the district attorney’s office refused to free them until the case was closed,” Al-Huraisi said.
The family of the deceased is calling for the men’s execution. The board investigators had found a case against the two men after several months of investigation, which included listening to eyewitness testimonies.
An autopsy report said that Al-Huraisi died after suffering a severe blow to his head causing a 6-cm-deep fracture to his skull.
Several bottles of alcohol were found in Al-Huraisi’s possession when 18 commission members raided his home in Al-Uraija district of Riyadh in May last year.
The bootlegger was arrested along with members of his family and taken to a commission center close by. It was then that he was pronounced dead after allegedly being beaten by commission members.
New rules issued by the Interior Ministry following the death prevent the religious police from taking suspects to commission centers. The Kingdom’s vice cops are now required to hand detainees into police custody.
